Crash and Burn
by strapped to a comet
Summary: Sue's new intern will be the only other female member on Doom's crew to the space station, as well as a never ending mystery to Johnny Storm. JohnnyOC. Movie based.
1. Mistaken for Strangers

_A/N: Like my Doom fanfic, I have no idea where this idea came from. I just recently re-watched F4 three times in a row, so maybe that's it. That, and I'm so fond of the love/hate relationship dynamic._

_Anyway, I've never read the comic, so this is based completely off of the movie. Very first venture into this fandom!_

------------------------------

"Six degrees of separation is the hypothesis that anyone on Earth  
can be connected to any other person on the planet through a  
chain of no more than six acquaintances." -Anonymous

------------------------------

Crash and Burn

Chapter One: Mistaken for Strangers

"I didn't _truly_ think it was humanly possible, but I stand corrected. Stacks of lifeless paper are capable of murder by boredom."

Kassie Rivers split another jaw-cracking yawn, placing her forehead on the thick stack in front of her, her eyes scanning wearily over the multiple packets of paper spilled out over the conference table before her. Across from her sat Susan Storm, bogged down with just as much paper work as Kassie.

Sue shot an amused glance over at her friend and colleague, and just shook her head.

"That sounds like something Johnny would say," Sue commented absently, flipping through several more pages of the packet she held in her hands.

Sue was sitting at a conference table splayed with the annual reviews of all the employees of the Genetic Research department. Sue ran the department, and at the moment, her most promising intern had her forehead resting on a stack of undocumented reviews.

At Sue's comment, Kassie's head shot up immediately, a look of mock disgust on her face.

"I've never met your brother, Sue, but from the horror stories you've shared, I'm opting to take that as an insult," Kassie sniffed mockingly.

Sue shook her head again and grinned, returning her attention to the review in her hands. And much to her own dismay, Kassie also returned to the papers in front of her.

Kassie Rivers had begun working for the Doom Corporation a year ago. She had started out as a secretary fresh out of high school, looking for an internship in science, specifically genetic research, with the degree she'd earned while taking part-time classes at university following high school. She'd been lucky enough to land a spot on the Doom team two years after graduating and, though it had taken her nearly six months to rise up in the ranks, she'd done it and was proud of the accomplishment. She did, however, plan to return to college after her yearlong internship finished up.

She worked in Genetic Research now, alongside the one friend she'd made since joining Victor von Doom's team, Sue Storm. The two women, both coffee addicts and avid New York Giants fans, had become fast friends.

"Honestly Sue, we've been going over these reviews for over four hours. Can we call it a night?" Kassie asked, and glanced at her wristwatch. It was a little after one in the morning.

"Morning," she corrected herself, shooting Sue a hopeful glance.

Sue's eyes widened. "Shoot! Is it that late already?" She looked ready to strangle someone.

"Well...not if you're going to kill me," Kassie tried to lighten the mood. "Why?"

Sue shook her head distractedly, and stood. Kassie followed suit.

"It's Johnny - he's flying in tonight from Florida," Sue explained, panic starting to set in her features. "I was supposed to meet him at the airport an hour ago!" She ran her hands through her blond hair to try and calm herself down as she grabbed her coat off of the back of her chair.

Kassie stood, also grabbing her coat. "Slow down, Sue. I'm sure Johnny got a cab or something. I'll help you get a hold of him, OK?" Kassie offered.

Sue nodded, her gaze still distant as she walked towards the door of the conference room. Kassie flicked off the lights behind the two of them, and walked towards the elevators, Sue a few feet ahead of her.

Once in the car on the way to Sue's apartment, Kassie finally felt it safe to ask her friend a few questions for clarity.

"Why is your brother flying in from Florida so late?" Kassie asked.

"He used to work for NASA," Sue replied, her eyes focused on the road as she was driving.

Kassie cringed as a thought came to her. "_Used_ to?"

Sue nodded, and then took a deep sigh. "As of three days ago. He's a talented pilot, but after a third – incident - NASA sent him packing. I asked Victor this morning if we could place him on payroll in case any we need back up pilots for future projects, and he agreed," Sue explained.

"I'll bet he did," Kassie muttered. She loved her job, but despised her boss.

Victor von Doom may be stud of the year, but he took the cake when it came to the most suave creep in all of New York. At least, that's what Kassie thought. Everyone who worked at the company could see that he was after Sue. Everyone except Sue, of course.

"...so he caught the first flight out. He called me yesterday to confirm - I can't _believe_ I forgot!" Sue gritted her teeth in frustration.

Kassie shrugged sympathetically, turning another block and pulled up to Sue's apartment building. Sue parked the car in the parking structure and the two jogged quickly into the building, Sue desperately hoping to find her brother magically at her apartment.

When they got to the eighth floor apartment, Sue knocked on the door. After no answer, she shot Kassie a worried look.

"I'm sure he's already in and asleep," Kassie tried to reassure Sue.

Sue smiled briefly, pulled out her key and unlocked the door; tentatively, she pushed open the door and stepped in. All the lights were off, and as Kassie walked in, she felt along the wall until she came to the lights witch. A second later the apartment was illuminated - and revealed an orderly, very vacant, apartment.

Sue let out a worried sigh, and made a beeline for the phone to call her brother.

A few minutes later she emerged from the kitchen. The look of relief on her face was hard to miss.

"Johnny's on his way?" Kassie guessed.

Sue nodded to confirm. "He said his flight was delayed an hour, but he caught a cab and is in route now."

After a quick goodbye and assurance she'd tackle the reviews again with Sue tomorrow, Kassie headed out of the building, the cold night air hitting her like a brick wall.

Pulling the coat tighter around her shoulders, she gave the doorman a half-smile as he held the door for her, and walked down a few steps to the sidewalk. She glanced in her messenger bag - the last purse she'd had was stolen and she hadn't replaced it yet - to make sure she had enough money for cab fare.

When Kassie looked up again, there was already a yellow car pulling to a stop in front of her.

The backseat door opened, and Kassie quickened her pace up to the sidewalk.

"Hold the cab, please!" She called as the passenger stepped out.

In her eagerness, she nearly collided with the man as he got out. Kassie had to look up to see his face - she was 5'4" and the guy had to be at least six feet tall. Blue eyes and a handsome, youthful face met her surprised exclamation. She stopped herself from doing a double take. He looked to be around her age, with short-cropped dark blonde hair - a contrast to Kassie's red head of hair.

He greeted her with a smile uncharacteristic for most people who had just run into strangers.

"Allow me," he said in a courteous tone, holding the door open for her.

Kassie studied the guy's face, something about his eyes looking familiar to her. She brushed off the thought and her momentary lapse when she'd first saw his face.

"Thank you," Kassie said. Thankful, yes, if not a little puzzled.

She stepped into the cab, and noticed then that the guy was wearing a black leather jacket and blue jeans with a bright yellow shirt underneath. Kassie glanced up at him once more before he gave her a slight smile, and to Kassie's eyes, it looked a little tired.

It had Kassie shaking her head, a smile also tugging at her lips, before she finally told the cab to head for her apartment on 4th and Chambers St.

------------------------------

_A/N: And the verdict is... : ) I'll probably move the timeline up so it starts somewhere soon before the movie does. I have no idea when the next update is...all depends on inspiration - let me know your thoughts!_


	2. Past in Present

_A/N: The dreaded school has started (help!) so I'm expecting updates to be every week and a half to two weeks. A big thank you to all the reviewers - keep the crit coming! It definitely helps me improve! That said, enjoy!_

------------------------------

"One-hundred percent of the shots you don't take don't go in." -Wayne Gretzky

------------------------------

Crash and Burn

Chapter Two: Past in Present

Kassie awoke the next morning to the sound of someone belting out _Don't Cry For Me, Argentina at _the top of their lungs and - much to her disappoint - it sounded rather on key...and _loud_. When she glanced at her clock and the red digital numbers read 6:02 AM, she nearly groaned. Her alarm wasn't supposed to go off for another hour, but did her musically-obsessed roommate care about that?

_No, of course not_, Kassie thought as she trudged out of bed and walked into the kitchen. (To hell with combing her hair.)

The traitor stood there, happily humming _Argentina_'s bridge while frying eggs for breakfast.

"Matt!" she called in a clipped tone.

The aforementioned jumped when he heard his name, the song coming to an abrupt halt, and spun around. It only annoyed Kassie further when she saw the wide smile on his face.

"Hello, Fish. I thought you might like to wake up to the sound of my operatic talents. How are you this morning?" Matt asked, returning his attention to the frying pan.

"Don't call me Fish," Kassie scowled. "And why are you so chipper?" She snapped. "It can't be natural."

"No..." Matt said slowly in a tone as if he were talking to a five-year-old. "What's unnatural is how much my baby cousin despises rising with the sun every morning."

Kassie scoffed. She was _not_ a morning person. She had discovered this in the second grade.

Matt turned off the oven skillet, sliding the fried eggs onto separate plates and held one out for his cousin to take.

Kassie's crabby mood lightened as she took the plate and mumbled a quick thanks. Then she said, "I thought you weren't supposed to get back until the end of the week."

After her cousin had graduated college at NYU (on full scholarship) he had needed a place to stay before he found a job and saved up enough money for an apartment. Kassie had offered, and now the two were roommates, though Matt had left last week to spend a long overdue vacation with his family. But...if he was back early, things obviously hadn't gone well. And sadly, it wouldn't have been the first time.

The immediate damper on Matt's expression only confirmed Kassie's thoughts. The two were cousins - only three years apart - but had grown up like brother and sister, and they might as well have been genetically, anyway. Their parents - Kassie's mother and Matt's mother - were twin sisters. And the two didn't have any other siblings.

"What happened?" Kassie asked, pulling out a chair at the small round dining table in the alcove next to the kitchen. Matt joined her, trying to hide his discomfort at her question.

"Dad and I had a fight," Matt answered shortly. "What else is new?"

This was definitely nothing new. Her Uncle Robert had never been able to get along easily with Matt, even though he was his own son. Maybe it was because Matt had never taken to baseball the way she had when they were younger. Either way, Kassie didn't have the heart to re-open old wounds and ask why.

The two cousins slipped into silence as they ate their breakfast. One thing she could say for Matt was that he certainly could cook. She couldn't remember the last time her diet included something other than instant or frozen food.

"Well, now that you _are_ back, I have to get to work," Kassie said with sigh, pushing her empty plate away from her. "Sorry to eat and run," she joked.

Matt smiled. "I've got to start the dreaded job hunting sooner or later. I actually have a few offers. . ."

"Good luck," she offered with a smile, standing. It was good to have her cousin back. "I'll see you later, cuz."

------------------------------

After stopping off at Starbucks to get the usual coffee run for Sue, Gloria - another co-worker whom she'd befriended - and herself, Kassie walked up to the Doom building, shaking her head as she saw the construction workers putting the finishing touches on the thirty-foot statue her boss had ordered to be placed where the fountain had once been at the entrance. Everyone who went into the building knew who ran the place.

"You think you're so invincible," Kassie muttered to herself.

"Not a fan?"

Kassie turned suddenly at the sound of the familiar voice: the guy from the night before stood a step behind her. His eyes were trained on the statue's face, hands folded over his chest. He had a light smirk on his face when he met Kassie's gaze.

"It's Taxi Guy. Hey," Kassie greeted with a smile. She added belatedly, "Again."

In daylight, the guy - Kassie had to admit - looked even more handsome. He was still wearing that same leather jacket as the night before, but in place of the T-shirt and faded jeans were a light blue dress shirt and black jeans that could pass for dress pants if you didn't pay too close attention to detail. He was clean-shaven, looking like he was going somewhere.

He gave her an odd sort of look before replying. A smile pulled at his mouth. In the end, he shrugged.

"You probably won't believe me, but I _have_ been called that before," he said, grinning.

Kassie arched an eyebrow. "I believe you," she replied with a smirk.

"That's a first," he mused.

Kassie smiled and wondered how many girls he had used that line on.

"I like to break barriers," she shrugged, then nodded towards the Doom building. "And I like to be in to work on time."

"You work here?" He asked just as Kassie started to turn to go.

Kassie nodded, starting to turn towards the revolving door entrance again.

"Is there any chance we can continue this conversation later?" The guy asked, putting on his best smile.

Kassie quirked a smile in return and forced herself not to be fazed by the guy's actions. "Look me up," she offered and started to walk away.

"I don't have your name!" The guy called to her.

Kassie turned around and said, "Call it playing hard to get!"

With that, she turned around again and walked into the Doom building, a small smile tugging at her lips. Who was she kidding? The guy wouldn't try to find her again - she didn't know his name and he didn't know hers. He probably wouldn't have any trouble finding another date...

The thought unexpectedly made her pause in her thoughts, but she brushed it off and made her way for the elevators.

------------------------------

"Oh, you are a goddess, Kassie. Thank you," Gloria praised as Kassie handed the older woman her order from Starbucks.

"Any time, Gloria," Kassie smiled briefly at the woman's praise.

A door slammed behind both women, Kassie almost spilling the two coffees she held.

Gloria cringed and motioned with her chin towards Sue's office.

"She got a call this morning about a possible project partner Mr. von Doom might sign on today," Gloria explained, taking a healthy gulp of her coffee.

Kassie cocked her head to one side. "That warrants slamming doors?"

Gloria shook her head and sighed. "The possible future project partner is Reed Richards."

Kassie racked her brain for some reason why Sue would be angry with the Doom Corporation gaining Reed Richards for a project, but couldn't come up with one. She had read about the scientist - brilliant but bankrupt, apparently.

"I better go get some coffee to her before she starts abusing office furniture," Kassie said, waving goodbye to Gloria as she walked down the aisle way towards Sue's office.

It was a corner office. The two large windows both had blinds drawn, and the one door already previously slammed shut. Kassie knocked lightly on the door before receiving a curt _Come in!_ from the other side.

"All right, Sue. White flag's raised, I have the coffee, and I come in peace," Kassie said as she edged slowly into the office, letting the door close gently behind her. She held out a mocha latté for Sue.

Sue's angry expression fell away into one of thankfulness as she plopped down into her office chair. Kassie took the seat opposite her. Sue let out a laugh, to Kassie surprise after taking a few sips of her coffee.

"Thank you, Kassie. And I'm sorry for the temper tantrum. I suppose I probably should go and apologize to the rest of the department who heard that..."

"All within a mile radius, just to be sure," Kassie shrugged, smiling.

Sue laughed again, and then took a calming breath, smoothing out her dark brown dress suit and perfect blond hair.

"That bad?" Kassie wondered, cringing inwardly.

Sue sighed, and to Kassie it sounded more sad than exasperated.

"It's good for the company. And it will be absolutely phenomenal if the project pulls through with success. But Reed Richards. . ." Sue's gaze traveled to the large window that looked out over the city and busy street below.

"Do you two have a history?" Kassie asked.

"Key word: _history_," Sue emphasized, meeting Kassie's gaze with distantly sad eyes.

"I'm sorry," Kassie said, a little lamely.

Sue shook her head, as if trying to clear a bothersome memory, and then smiled at her intern.

"Well, you better not be! Because if I'm going to be doing business with Reed Richards, I am dragging you along for the ride," the blond pronounced rather soundly.

Kassie blinked. "What?"

Sue's smile was all knowing. "Have you ever been to space?"

------------------------------

_A/N: There's chapter two! The movie scenes should be kicking in, but I'll probably play around with a few of them...let me know your thoughts! The next update should be in around two weeks, I hope - if my Euro history class isn't too terrible with the workload! ; ) Ciao for now._


	3. Dance with the Devil

_A/N: I am _so _sorry this took me over a month to get up! School_'_s a little hectic, even with my dropped history class. I guess they don_'_t call it Spanish __Honors_ _for nothing, huh? I hope I haven't lost you guys :( Enjoy the chap and don't forget to review - I'm a very easy person to guilt into doing something, so remind me not to forget about this lovely 'ol story here!_

------------------------------

"Sarcasm is anger with a smile." -Natalie Hyde

------------------------------

Crash and Burn

Chapter Three: Dance with the Devil

"Sue, are you _sure_ you want to bring me up there?" Kassie asked pleadingly, turning towards her only ally in mild desperation. She nervously rolled a half-full water bottle between her hands, back and forth, waiting for the reply she wanted to hear.

Sue was watching the floor numbers illuminate one after the next as the elevator climbed higher and higher in the Doom building. At the sound of another one of Kassie's protests, Sue turned to the girl with a comforting smile.

"I'm absolutely sure!" Sue encouraged with a smile. Kassie cringed at the woman's confidence in her. "Kassie, you're the brightest mind I've seen in Genetics in a long time. This will be a great opportunity for you."

Kassie nodded and closed her eyes, taking a gulp of air, trying to fight an oncoming wave of vertigo.

Out of habit, she unscrewed the plastic cap and took a huge gulp of water to try and calm herself down. She had suffered heat stroke once in high school, and ever since, her dad - not to mention Matt - made sure she drank enough water each day, enough to make her feel like a fish most times. Kassie winced at the reminder of how she'd gotten that colorful nickname from her cousin.

Sue watched the nervous habit with unveiled amusement. "How much water did you say you drink each day?"

"At least three bottles. Why?" Kassie admitted, a little embarrassed.

"It's healthy," Sue concluded simply. "Maybe if I pair you up with my brother on this trip some of your good habits will wear off on him," she offered with a smile.

"Not likely," Kassie muttered. At the reminder of the flight, she asked, "When - _exactly_ - do we leave?"

"I've already called and briefed a flight crew," Sue replied. "I'll finish organizing resources once I talk with Ben about what he and Reed will need."

"Ben?" Kassie asked, unfamiliar with the name.

Sue's smile was warm and loving when she answered. "Ben's sort of always been a big brother to my brother and I. Reed, too. We've all known him since high school."

"He works with Reed?" Kassie asked.

Sue nodded, then frowned for a moment. "My brother, Reed and Ben all worked at NASA for over a year together. Until--"

"Johnny got fired?" Kassie supplied helpfully with a smile.

Sue sighed, a little embarrassed, "Ben was his CO." The blond woman cast Kassie a rueful look. "My brother's a bit of a free spirit."

The phrase reminded Kassie of her cousin, Matt. She smiled. "I know what that's like."

Sue turned to her intern. "Younger or older?"

"Older cousin. Matt," Kassie explained. "But he's always been like a brother to me."

"Hmm..." Sue said, then grinned. "And does your brother sneak Victoria Secret models into the restricted areas at NASA Space Center?"

Kassie's eyes widened as she let out a hearty laugh. "Unless there's something Matt's not telling me, then no," she replied, taking another gulp of water.

------------------------------

The elevator let out a soft _ting!_ as it reached the fortieth floor. Sue and Kassie exchanged glances as the elevator doors slid open.

"You ready?" Kassie asked her, worried.

Sue shook out her arms and inhaled, holding herself a little higher, putting on a picture-ready smile.

"I don't have a choice, Kass," Sue said tightly as she stepped out of the elevator.

Kassie followed, a worried look marring her features.

The two women walked down the hall at a leisurely pace, Kassie just a pace behind Sue to show respect. When they came to a short hallway that branched off from the main corridor, Sue and Kassie walked down a short ways before coming into a grand conference room.

Kassie spotted the ever-vain von Doom sitting casually on the edge of his conference desk, and two other men with their backs to her and Sue, talking. The two women walked in on the conversation, but didn't make themselves known immediately, catching the tail end of the previous conversation.

"Ben," Kassie saw the dark-haired man say, "This is business, just work."

_Reed, I presume_, Kassie thought.

Sue stepped forward at that moment and spoke from behind the two men. "He's right, Ben. It is just business."

The second of the two men, Ben, turned at the sound of Sue's voice. The cool, icy note of her tone could not be missed.

"You both know my director of Genetic Research, Susan Storm," Victor introduced Sue, then flashed a brief smirk in Kassie's direction. "Her assistant, Kassandra Rivers."

Kassie had always hated the fact that, ever since she'd become friends with Susan, Victor had made a point to be on good terms with her, calling her by name, instead of just snapping his fingers and expecting someone to appear out of thin air to carry out his orders. She wasn't expendable as long as she could put in a good word for him with Sue.

Sue walked up to the two men, a bright smile on her face as she approached the larger of the two men, Ben; Kassie followed, hesitantly after.

"Hey, Suzie," Ben greeted with a grin, enveloping her in a bear hug.

Kassie noted that Reed looked like he would rather be walking the surface of Mars right about now than to be in the same room as Sue.

"Hey," Sue returned, "It's so nice to see you - how's Debbie?"

"Great," Ben replied, still smiling brightly.

_Girlfriend?_ Kassie wondered. When the two broke the reunion hug, Ben turned his attention to Kassie.

"Ms. Rivers," Ben held out his hand to shake.

"It's Kassie," she said, waving off the formality. "Sue's told me a lot about you."

"All good reports, I hope," Ben said, letting out a little nervous laugh.

Kassie mused that the man's kind, no-nonsense smile seemed to fit the profile of Big Brother Sue had described earlier.

In response to his query, the blond woman assured Ben with a nod of her head, and then shifted her attention to Reed...the warm smile was replaced with stoic indifference in the blink of an eye.

"Uh...how've you been?" Reed asked, clearly nervous.

"Never better," Sue replied, indifferent, holding out her hand for Reed to shake.

Kassie exchanged a glance with Ben, already feeling uncomfortable with the unresolved tension in the air.

"This isn't going to be a problem, is it?" asked Victor with faux innocence.

Kassie rolled her eyes before she could stop herself. Luckily, only Ben saw the action; he hid his grin as best he could.

"Not at all," Sue and Reed answered simultaneously.

"Good," Victor concluded, "Then you are just in time to hear the great Reed Richards ask _me_ for help."

Kassie could just see the dominos falling into place as Victor began his gloating rampage.

"--Sue told me you went to MIT," Kassie slipped into, between Victor's pause. "A friend of mine attends there now. You're one of his idols when it comes to science."

The compliment took off the steam on Victor's bragging train. Sue glanced at Kassie, mouthing a quick thank you_._

Reed glanced at Sue before Victor said, "Your reputation precedes you, Reed. But we can't all be geniuses, now can we?"

Reed attempted to smile convincingly at the comment, smoothing out his expression into one of business. "Victor, if you back this mission, I'll sign over a fair percentage of any applications--"

"The number is 75," Victor cut him off, "And all its applications and patents."

_Greedy, aren't you?_ Kassie thought; seventy-five percent was a narrow split, even for Victor von Doom.

"What about his first born?" Ben interjected.

"Ben," Victor chided, laughing at his own brilliance. "Come on. Twenty-five percent of a _billion_ is enough to keep the lights on a while, isn't it?" He shrugged, "Maybe even pay off your fourth mortgage on the Baxter Building. Deal?" Victor stuck his hand out to shake.

_The word_ evil _comes to mind_, Kassie answered, mentally. With a glance in Sue's direction, she could tell that her friend didn't think any part of this "deal" was a good idea.

Reluctantly, and with a brave half-smile, Reed returned the handshake.

"Well, then," Victor said, thoroughly pleased with himself. "To our future..._together_," Victor slipped a hand around Sue's waist to make his point. "It's funny how things turn out, isn't it?"

Kassie exchanged another look with Ben, their anxious expressions mirroring each other.

"Hilarious," Reed muttered under his breath.

------------------------------

Kassie followed Sue, Reed and Ben out of the conference room, but paused halfway down the hall when she heard Victor had his drone of an assistant, Leonard, speaking.

"If Reed's right, this little trip could double our stock offerings," she heard Victor's over-confident voice.

"And if he's not?" Leonard drawled.

"Reed's always right," Victor assured the man. "Good thing he doesn't _always_ know what he's got."

Kassie bit her lip and shook her head as she turned to catch up with Sue down the hall, moving toward the back next to Ben as Reed and Sue filed in side by side.

"Reed, you should know those solar winds have been picking up speed..." Sue turned to the scientist.

"I factored them into my coordinates," Reed assured her.

"Right," Sue nodded, "Of course you did." She shrugged, "In theory."

Kassie nudged Ben in the arm. "Ping pong, huh?"

Ben grinned, clasping his hands behind his back.

"It's a little different once you're out there," Sue faced the elevator doors again.

"I can assure you--" Reed began again, in vain.

"When are we leaving?" Ben slipped in gracefully.

"I'll be scheduling the launch," Sue replied, smiling in Ben's direction and dropping the Ice Queen act for a few moments. Pulling out a business card, Sue held it out to Reed. "You can call me in the morning for resources and crew."

"I think I remember the number," Reed replied, reproving.

"It's been changed," Sue returned smoothly.

Kassie watched the overconfident smile wash right off of Reed's face.

Breaking the brief silence, Ben cleared his throat, drawing the attention away from Sue and Reed's verbal bouts.

"As far as crew goes," Reed inched over to stand behind Ben, "I was hoping Ben could pilot the mission."

Sue gave Ben a sympathetic look. "We already have a pilot on our payroll. But you're welcome to ride shotgun," she replied. Then she smiled, "Remember my brother Johnny?"

------------------------------

_A/N: I know it may seem weird to end it there for now, but the next chap's gonna have a couple of scenes that aren't in the movie before the launch._

_I promise the next update will come sooner than this one - now that I've got study hall instead of my previous history class, I'll have some more time to write! Don't forget to review, all twenty-odd of you that have this on your story alert!_


	4. Funny Little Feeling

_A/N: There's really no excuse for me not updating in months...all there's to say is that I hope the characters are too out of character and that you guy's will forgive me? Hope everyone had a good new year, and a quick shout out to Chibimanda along with all you wonderful guys who're reviewing!_

_Also, I wrote this entire chapter to _Funny Little Feeling _by Rock 'n' Roll Soldiers. Listen to it, cool? It's a definite toe-tapper. (Did I just say toe-tapper?)_

_Enjoy the chap and don't forget to review!_

------------------------------

"The most exciting attractions are between two  
opposites that never meet." -Andy Warhol

------------------------------

Crash and Burn

Chapter Four: Funny Little Feeling

"A toast!" Matt grinned, holding up a shot glass filled with Jack Daniel's, "To my adorable baby cousin and her soon-to-be career in _space_!"

The people toasting - all legal except one - were sitting at their usual table in Mackie's, a pub and local institution. They all let out a round of cheers before draining their shots. Many of them were Matt's friends whom both Kassie and her cousin had grown up with, the only difference being that they were all of drinking age, save Kassie.

In contrast to the lopsided grins of her companions, Kassie chuckled at her cousin's enthusiasm and took a hearty swig of her drink, one-hundred percent H2O. Matt had been thrilled to hear the news of the launch that she would be a passenger of; Kassie had told him first thing when she'd gotten home from work that day.

Since Reed's space cloud wouldn't arrive for another six weeks, the crew wouldn't be leaving Earth's atmosphere for another five and half weeks. Until then, Victor had assigned mandatory training to prepare for any of the conditions or situations that might arise up in the space station.

"Come on, Kass, you can handle _one_ shot, can't you?" Matt asked with widely innocent eyes as he held out a shot to her.

Kassie eyed the alcohol and tried to cover up her dislike for the stuff. She'd never been much of a drinker. The first time she'd even had just a few gulps of a fifth, she immediately felt the effects the doctors warn you about - dehydration and dizziness.

Since then, she'd stayed away from any alcohol; the effects it had left her with momentarily had convinced her that the stuff just didn't agree with her body's chemistry.

"You know I don't drink, Mattie," Kassie chuckled, swatting away the shot glass. She was sure she wouldn't start even once she turned twenty-one in a little under a year.

"Yeah, man," Matt's friend, Jake, cut in. He had been a theatre major at NYU along with Matt. "Let the woman enjoy her water on the rocks, will ya?" His words were only slightly slurred, but Kassie appreciated his jump to her defense, even if he was a little buzzed.

"Aw, cuz, you're such a buzz kill," Matt complained as he downed the shot in his hand.

Kassie noted that as his fourth shot; two more and she'd have to make good on the pact she and Matt had made a couple years ago: to drag his near-drunk ass out of whatever establishment he was in and make sure he made it home to his _own_ bed safely.

"Leave the girl in peace, Mattie!" Janie called out, swatting Matt in the arm, though without much gusto. Janie had been like an older sister to Kassie growing up; teaching her about makeup, boys, partying and everything else her parents weren't comfortable talking about with their only daughter.

Kassie smiled her thanks at Janie, whom she noted hadn't even finished downing her first shot, not even when Matt had toasted her success at the Doom Corporation.

An idea hit her and, deciding for subtlety, Kassie got up from her stool at the table and walked over to the electrical jukebox. One thing her cousin could never say no to was a dance. The distraction would also serve to slow down his alcohol intake as well and work off some of the excess energy he seemed to naturally accumulate by the boatload.

_Funny Little Feeling_ by the Rock 'n' Rolls Soldiers filled the pub, the sound waves sending vibrations through everything from the barstools to Kassie's boots.

Recognition at the song's tune donned on Matt's face and he grinned.

"Kass, you rock!" He called as he took Janie 's hand and led her on to the dance floor. The rest of their group followed and, unable to ignore the call of the Rock 'n' Roll Soldiers, Kassie got out on the floor and started stepping to the fast-pace beat as well.

Jake was spinning her out in their poor attempt of a tango when she felt herself collide head-on with a solid body that was easily twice her stature.

"Shoot," Kassie muttered. Frazzled, she looked up and began to apologize, "I'm sorry about that..." She trailed off when she realized it was Taxi Guy.

"We've got to stop meeting like this, beautiful." The words seemed to come with practiced ease. If Kassie weren't so distracted by his eyes, she would have immediately rolled her own.

As it was, she _was _distracted.

"Excuse me?" Kassie asked, confused.

The guy motioned to their current proximity to each other and flashed a grin that she was sure would melt many girl's hearts; at the moment, it just seemed to confuse her more. She'd seen that smile somewhere before, and that blond hair...

"Late night cabs, the office, and now on the dance floor...I'm beginning to think you're following me," the guy said.

Was he flirting with her? Shaking her head, mentally of course, Kassie took a step back from Taxi Guy - now realizing she didn't even know his _real_ name.

"Not that I mind in the least," the guy continued, putting up his hands to - what? Stop her from bolting? "What's your name?"

Well, that's what she was going to do, anyway.

"I have to go," Kassie said by way of answer.

Shaking her head physically this time, she turned and headed back to their table to grab her jacket. Walking over to the bar, she hailed Mackie, the grizzly owner and slapped two twenties on the bar counter.

"Matt's drinks are on me," Kassie said.

"You're a doll, Kassie," Mackie grunted out, taking the twenties and putting them in the register. Kassie may not be a drinker, but her cousin loved to celebrate at least twice a week - the Rivers were regulars at the pub. "Want me to call you a cab?"

"Thanks," Kassie nodded, grateful for Mackie's hospitality in regards to his customers. He was one of the few decent bar owners in the city she knew of.

When she turned around, she was face-to-face with Taxi Guy again.

_You just don't quit,_ Kassie thought, feeling both a mix of exasperation and flattery.

If he had caught her at a better time - like not when her cousin was borderline drunk and beginning to make a fool of himself - then she might have at least given the guy a chance to speak.

"You didn't answer my question, babe," he reminded her, flashing her another one of his, no doubt, trademark grins.

The guy may have thought he was good-looking enough to get away with things like that concerning other pursuits, but Kassie despised pet names more than she did alcohol.

"Call me 'babe' again and I can guarantee _some_ part of you will have something to answer for," Kassie said, gently pushing past him and making her way over to Matt.

"Come on, Elvis. We're going," Kassie announced, hooking her arm around Matt's and dragging him towards the entrance. In Matt's tipsy state, it wasn't all that hard to convince him, though he did mutter something about how " Janie would lament his boisterous absence. " Whatever that meant.

_All you eloquent theatre types_, Kassie thought, chuckling a little to herself. _Even when you're buzzed._

The last few beats of _Funny Little Feeling_ followed Kassie and Matt as they exited the pub. True to his word, a cab was waiting to take them both home, bless Mackie.

------------------------------

"What's this? The great Johnny Storm turned down by a girl?"

Johnny tried not to roll his eyes at his friend Macon's comment. His pride had been wounded enough tonight, he didn't need Macon emphasizing that point any further. He hadn't even gotten the girl's name.

Taking a swig of his beer, Johnny decided not to add to Macon's amusement with a comeback.

"Pleading the fifth, huh, man?" Macon grinned, slapping Johnny on the back.

The guy was buzzed and Johnny was seriously considering calling a cab for his friend before he did anything he would regret later.

Macon smoothed out his flushed face into one of mock seriousness as he said, "Really, man. You may be losing your touch. I mean…" he struggled for words as he took a huge gulp of beer before continuing, "D'you see the _legs_ on that girl? They'd drive me crazy all the way to Staten an' back!"

Johnny felt an uncharacteristic twinge of anger at the lewdness of Macon's exclamation, not that he'd let Macon in on that little fact.

"I think you've had too much to drink tonight, man," Johnny said, gathering up his glass mug and Macon's. "Why don't we call you a cab and get you home?"

"Whatever..." Macon said, a little deflated at his friend's lack of response or rebound from getting turned down. "Looks like she was spoken for anyway...leavin' with that guy an' all."

Johnny tried to pacify his friend as he led him out of the bar and into a cab that Mackie had called for him. As the cab receded into the distance down the street, Johnny thought back to earlier in the bar, his third encounter with the mystery girl.

He didn't know her name and she had been on his mind a surprising amount of times in the last couple of days. All he knew about her was that she worked in the same building as Sue, she had startling red hair and sported the habit of evading his questions as if his usual charm, but then again, maybe she just had a good poker face. And he was inclined to agree with the second of the two scenarios.

"Huh," Johnny murmured to himself, his mouth quirking into an unsure smile.

He turned back around and headed into the bar; he still had his charm, his smile: tonight didn't have to be a complete loss, after all.

------------------------------

_A/N: I hope that was an all right chapter for you guys! How'd you like Matt in this chap? And the little insight into Johnny's mind?_

_I'm gonna have one or two more chapter before they prepare for the launch - after all, the movie did say that the cloud would arrive in six weeks...gotta fill that time with something! Any ideas you guys have, I'm open to 'em!_

_The next update should be up in one to two weeks. For now, don't forget to read and review!_


	5. Between Order and Randomness

_A/N: Explanations seem a little gratuitous at this point, especially considering the turn of events my life has taken in the last couple of weeks._

_All I'm gonna say is:_

_a) apologies for the extreme delay in updates  
b) thanks to the reviewers who were patient and didn't totally bitch me out for it  
c) I don't claim to be a comic book buff; pardon any liberties I might take where these characters' histories are concerned._

_That said, enjoy chapter five of this lil' fanfic - more original scenes before the movie kicks off._

_Review and I'll smile!_

------------------------------

"Immorality: the morality of those who are having a  
better time." -Henry Louis Mencken

------------------------------

Crash and Burn

Chapter Five: Between Order and Randomness

Over the next couple weeks, Kassie's life took on a comfortable predictability.

Her training in preparation for the departure into space occupied most of her workweek. She was grateful to both have Sue as an ally and Victor von Doom as an absence during those times. Unfortunately, though not entirely unexpected, Kassie took some heat from several employees in Genetics who were passed up for the opportunity of going into space; she took the high road as often as she could.

Matt landed a position as an assistant at an art gallery. He claimed it to be his in-between job until one of his many musical auditions panned out. Meanwhile, show tunes could be heard from their apartment at all hours of the day.

"If the neighbors haven't already planned your demise, Matt, I'll think up one myself," Kassie called from her position on the couch; Matt was heating leftovers in the kitchen while singing _Jellicle Songs For Jellicle Cats_.

"Come on, Kass, I am not _that_ bad," Matt rolled his eyes, scooping up both their plates and walking into the living room.

"You know what they say about too much of a good thing," Kassie said sweetly, taking the proffered plate from her cousin, breathing in the smell of the steaming egg rolls. She always thought Chinese takeout tasted better the second day.

"I won't risk my life trying to bait - you'd probably chop me with your monster biceps anyway," Matt said, jabbing a chopstick at Kassie's arm.

"They're not monster biceps!" Kassie exclaimed. "And try to remember that Sue and I have ex-Navy SEALs training us."

"Don't worry, cousin dearest," Matt assured her. "I'll always love you and your over-developed arm muscles."

"You need a hobby," Kassie muttered through a mouthful of chicken.

"And you need a boyfriend," Matt countered.

An image of Taxi Guy flashed through her head (she wasn't quite sure why), and what chicken she was chewing was sputtered onto her plate following her cousin's comment. Matt's sides were splitting from laughter as she wiped her mouth clean of excess teriyaki sauce.

"That was meant to be a joke, but your reaction says otherwise . . ." Matt deduced as he ignored Kassie's death glare.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kassie said, obstinate.

"Sure you don't. You just thought I needed a teriyaki fountain demonstration to brighten up my night," Matt returned, smirking.

"I'm going to bed now," Kassie said, standing and walking over to the kitchen to dump her plate in the sink.

"Evasive, too. I'm impressed. Is he blond? Just tell me that, Kass," Matt called from the living room.

"Good night, Matt," Kassie said, making for her bedroom, not sparing her cousin a glance as she shut the door behind her.

"You always had a thing for tall, blond and blue-eyed!"

------------------------------

"Johnny, if you don't get out here this instant I will break down this door and drag you out, sheets and all!"

To put it simply, Sue was mad. _Very_ mad.

No, it was more than that.

She wasn't mad; she was furious. And Sue didn't get furious without just cause. In fact, the last time she had been furious involved Reed Richards, wet clothes and a burnt soufflé. But now, she most certainly _was_ furious. And at the moment, her fury was directed at her insufferable kid brother.

Sue folded her arms across her chest and began tapping her foot on the hardwood floor. When the door finally did open, she had a glare was firmly in place.

Johnny's trademark smile faded slightly when he saw his sister's expression.

"I can see the temperature has dropped below freezing," he said lightly.

"For starters," Sue began, ignoring her brother's comment and motioning in the direction of the living room, "Please tell me she's over eighteen."

"Chill, Sue, she's an old flame from college," Johnny assured her.

"You went to college in Miami," Sue reminded him.

"She's visiting for the weekend," her brother replied easily.

"And why couldn't she just spend the night in your room?" Sue demanded.

"She snored last time we were together - I wasn't sure if she'd broken the habit yet," Johnny explained innocently.

"Fine," Sue rolled her eyes. "Now that we have that straightened out," she said with a strained smile, "Can you tell me what she's doing, half-clothed in lingerie, on _my_ couch?"

Now Sue was furious, and nearly shouting.

"Shh shh," Johnny waved for his sister to take it down a few notches as he stepped out of his bedroom and made his way towards the kitchen. "You'll wake her up."

"Contrary to what you believe, I don't live to make your life easier, Johnny," Sue commented, right on her brother's heels. "I have to be at work in twenty minutes and I haven't even taken a shower yet!"

"So you'll be late to your breakfast date with Vicki von Bon Bon," Johnny shrugged, opening the fridge, snatching up the orange juice and drinking directly from the carton.

"I asked you to stop calling Victor that," Sue grit out, trying to reign in her temper that - sometimes - made a show on mornings where she was late and in short supply of coffee. Out of habit, she grabbed the carton out of Johnny's hand and got a clean glass from the dish rack, poured the OJ into it and handed it back to her brother all in the span of twenty seconds.

"I chose not to listen," Johnny smirked at his sister's maternal tendencies.

"And I don't have a meeting with Victor this morning - or at all today," Sue rebutted, leaning up against the counter as she watched her brother drain the OJ. "It's just this training he's assigned us. For the last two weeks, it's been nothing but _Pain is weakness leaving the body_ from the SEALs."

"That bad?" Johnny asked, feeling a slight tinge of guilt for stressing out his sister.

"Kassie and I have both been struggling with these tempo runs the last couple of days," Sue explained.

"Wait, wait, wait," Johnny held up a hand, a slow grin forming on his face. "There's another chick coming on this mission and you didn't tell me?"

Sue scrunched up her nose at her brother's suggestive tone. "Kassie's not a _chick_, she's my intern. And don't even think about putting _her_ on my couch, all right?"

"I'm hurt that you didn't see fit to trust me with this information. I thought we were close, Sue," Johnny whined with his grin still firmly secured.

"Johnny?"

Both Storm siblings turned at the sound of the sleep-laden voice. Johnny's latest hook up stood in the doorjamb of the kitchen, gathering up her mussed hair in a lopsided ponytail. In addition to the lime green lingerie, she sported one of Johnny's college shirts that just covered enough.

_At least she had the decency to put on a shirt_, Sue sighed, trying to remember the last time she had formally met one of Johnny's date that didn't include an impromptu rude awakening.

An awkward silence descended until Sue stood up and walked over to the girl, extending her hand.

"To answer your questions: Yes, this is my apartment. No, I'm not going to lose it and kick you out. And yes, we are related," Sue explained amicably, glancing back at Johnny to see him less than a thrilled at her introduction.

"Uh huh," the girl managed to utter out with an unsure smile.

"I'll see you when I get back from work, Johnny," said Sue as she left the kitchen and made a mad dash for the bathroom as soon as she was out of sight of the kitchen.

She was going to be _so_ late!

------------------------------

"So - Sue. I have - a - theory," Kassie got out between shotty breaths.

She and Sue had been on the treadmill for the last forty minutes. Tempo Run had been the technical term used by their trainer, Craig. The run included changing pace and incline every couple of minutes, which made for a very interesting and painful effect on every muscle group in her body, along with her lungs.

"Spill." Sue said.

"If - we - run into any - car-ni-v'rous - animals," Kassie struggled to speak. She almost decided to give up until the speed on the treadmill suddenly slowed from seven miles an hour to three miles an hour. She was able to speak again, just as long as she ignored the cramps in her side.

"You were saying - now that we can actually _breathe_," Sue prompted, smiling at the look of relief on her intern's face.

"If we run into anything up there that eats people," Kassie said again, "I can guarantee you we'll be the two that make it to the escape pods first."

"Kass, you do know that everyone going on this mission is going through the same training," Sue said.

Both their treadmills began to slow to a stop, until both Sue and Kassie were power walking at a comfortable pace.

"Right, sure," Kassie nodded, then pointed towards were the other SEALs were sitting on the workout benches across the room, "Then why did every trainer break for lunch just now?"

"It's understandable if they're hungry - it's nearly twelve," Sue replied, ever the pragmatic one.

"And it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that our tempo runs ended at the same time?" Kassie asked as their treadmills came to a slow stop, their cool down complete. All that was left now was to stretch.

"All of them didn't leave - Craig and a few of the others are still there," Sue pointed out. "And we're not the only ones working out – there are several of the crew members I signed on for the mission tackling resistance training."

Kassie wondered for a moment how Sue had not noticed these things, and then remembered her friend's reaction to the news of Reed Richards' return. She shrugged off the thought and returned her attention the current situation.

"A section of the gym which is located conveniently _behind_ the workout benches," Kassie rebutted. "And Sue, you forget - we still have to stretch," Kassie smirked. "That's why the rest haven't left yet."

"You remind me of Johnny when you do that," Sue told her. "When you smile like that," she elaborated.

"That," Kassie said, reaching down to touch her toes, "I'll take as a compliment."

------------------------------

_A/N: First off, Happy Summer! I know it's late, but better late than never I s'pose. So this chapter had more Johnny in it - I hope his dialogue seemed in-character enough. Let me know how you liked this; I wasn't too sure about putting in the last scene the way I did, but oh well. Let's see how it pans out._

_Only a couple more chapters and it's the Swan Lake Suits scene. Also, has anyone seen FF2 yet? I'm hoping to see it this weekend and I've heard all good reviews!_

_Once again, thanks for patience. Now that the fun stuff is coming up (it's gonna be fun deciding the details of Kassie's powers), perhaps my muses will begin cooperating!_

_Much love & reviews!_


	6. Forgive Me

_A/N: Mild swearing in this chap. Special notes at the bottom. For now, enjoy chapter six!_

------------------------------

"If everything is under control, you are  
going to slow." -Mario Andretti

------------------------------

Crash and Burn

Chapter Six: Forgive Me

Following the week of the tempo runs, Kassie had been finding herself with some extra time in the evenings as the training slowly came to a close. With the mission just a short week away, Sue had made sure that both their workloads would be covered so the Genetics department wouldn't suffer during their absence. That still didn't stop Kassie from bringing home an office box worth of reports to review, but it did take some of the stress of her shoulders. Matt had commented on her workaholic tendencies and insisted on inviting her to an art show at the gallery he worked at, which was that Saturday night.

Kassie was tying her running shoes when Matt stumbled out of his bedroom, bleary-eyed and starving. It was an unusually bright Saturday morning and Kassie wasn't going to miss a chance at running on her own without having someone yell in her ear to go faster.

"Do we have anything edible in the fridge?" Matt asked as he walked towards the kitchen.

Kassie found it amusing at the role reversal that took place in their apartment some days. When Matt had first moved in, he had made it a point to provide breakfast, while Kassie would cover dinner. Granted, Matt would cook his meals where Kassie would order hers, but their system worked. Lately, though - ever since Kassie had begun training for the mission - she had found herself with more energy than her cousin, so she opted to cover breakfast a couple times a week.

This morning entailed making a quick trip a couple blocks down to Levy's Bagels.

"Bagels and smear in the fridge," Kassie replied as she finished tying off her last shoelace. She stood and walked over to where her cousin was currently plastering a bagel with strawberry smear, trying not to laugh at Matt's yellow and green plaid pajama pants. She decided not to comment on how one side of Matt's dark hair was sticking up in spikes as if it had been electrocuted.

"Levy's?" Matt asked between mouthfuls of his chocolate chip bagel.

Levy's was an institution in their neighborhood.

"The one and only," Kassie smiled in response, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge. "I'm going for a run - we're leaving for the show at six, right?"

Matt nodded in confirmation and as Kassie closed the door behind her on the way out, she could hear the opening lines of _Good Morning Baltimore_ echo from the kitchen.

------------------------------

"Are you _sure_ you don't want to grab breakfast before I leave, Johnny?"

Johnny glanced up from flipping through the latest issue of _Snowboard Magazine_ and shrugged indifferently. Allison Blake had been a permanent fixture at his side for the past week, much to his unspoken chagrin. He liked the girl, sure, but enough was enough. They had a lot of fun back in college, and that was all Johnny really saw where Allison was concerned. Her original flight back to Miami had been postponed for several days (by her request, not his), and now she was finally leaving.

Back in college, they had been on again off again, more off than on. Johnny never liked to be tied down for too long, or for any amount of time, really. The party life had suited him just fine then, and it still seemed to pacify him. Most days. It didn't help, either; that Allison's visit hadn't done such a great job of taking his mind off of Taxi Girl, as he had now come to call the nameless redhead he'd run into at Sue's apartment, at work and at Mackie's.

"I gotta get to work," Johnny said, flipping through a couple more pages before he tossed the magazine on the living room table as he forced his thoughts back to the present. A present which included the fact that Sue would chew him out mercilessly if he was late for his scheduled mission training a third time.

Allison seemed to visibly deflate at his lack of interest. "Fine," she said, bristled. "At least walk me down to say goodbye."

------------------------------

Kassie was polishing off her second water bottle when she felt her phone buzz against her thigh - she'd stuffed the tiny thing in the pocket of her shorts before she'd set out for her run. Tossing the water bottle in a nearby garbage can, Kassie pulled out the phone and hit the 'Talk' button.

"Kassie Rivers," she answered automatically, if not slightly breathless. She had just finished an hour long run, after all.

"Kassie, it's Sue," came the woman's voice over the line.

"Hi - what's up?" Kassie asked as she paused at a crosswalk, glanced both ways and then jogged across as New York City traffic proved to be its usual static self. She slowed to a brisk walk as she continued down the sidewalk.

"Are you sitting down?" Sue asked slowly.

"Should I be?" Kassie wondered aloud. She couldn't help but smile - what was going on for Sue to call her like this? "Is something wrong?"

"Everything's fine," Sue assured her. "I had a quick glance through emails this morning and, there was one from Victor's secretary." Kassie stopped walking as Sue said, "It's a request for a letter of recommendation." A pause, then the woman added excitedly, "For you!"

"What does that mean?" Kassie asked, eager to have her hopes confirmed.

"It means, if all goes well with this mission, you're going to be an employee in Genetics," Sue said brightly. "A letter rec is standard procedure in the hiring process at the corporation, Kassie."

"Are you sure?" Kassie was stunned. She was thrilled - but she didn't want Sue to misinterpret things, either. "It's for sure?"

"Kass, trust me on this! You're in. Congratulations," Sue reassured the girl.

Kassie yelled a triumphant _Yes!_ and only a few passersby gave her odd looks as she began started off in the direction of her apartment to share with the good news with Matt. Now they both had jobs!

"Thank you," Kassie said meaningfully. "Thank you, Sue."

"You're welcome, Kassie," Sue replied and Kassie could hear the smile in her voice. "We'll celebrate before we go on the mission, all right? I can't wait to show you the suits Victor has designed for us."

"I'm breathless to see 'em," Kassie laughed.

------------------------------

Kassie fumbled getting her key out of her shorts pocket before unlocking the door to her apartment. She almost called out to Matt when booming voices echoed from the kitchen. She recognized Matt's immediately, and muttered an 'Oh no' when she recognized the second, deeper voice. Closing the door softly behind her, Kassie made her way to the kitchen silently.

"...And here you are, auditioning for _musicals_?!" came her Uncle Robert's accusatory tone that was unmistakable.

"Why are you upset? I graduated NYU, just as you and Mom wanted me to," Matt rebutted. "And now I want to pursue acting."

Kassie paused just out of view from the doorway that connected the hall and the kitchen. This was Matt's fight, as much as she wanted to help him.

"Your mother and I didn't work our asses off for you to waste your education learning dance routines and musical numbers! Hedge & Sons will remain that way and when I retire, your family expects you to be there to take over the business," Robert's voice was overpowering with an insulting edge.

"I went to NYU on _scholarship_, Dad," Matt reminded in a resentful tone. "It didn't cost you or your precious business a penny, besides the care packages Mom sent me."

"What about what it's costing us now, Matt? Your mother's beating herself up over the fact that we can't spend more than a week together as a family without fighting!" Robert seethed.

"And I'm sorry for that. I am," Kassie heard Matt's tone soften for a moment, "But that doesn't change my feelings towards your company or my dreams."

"Matt, you're _never_--"

"It's time for you to go, Dad. Tell Mom I love her," were Matt's parting words as he watched his father storm from the apartment.

Later that evening, as Kassie and Matt waited for a cab outside their apartment complex, Matt finally turned to her with the crestfallen expression she had been waiting to see ever since her Uncle Robert had left earlier that day.

"I _did_ try to make it work," Matt said, his voice sounding weak and lame.

Kassie put a hand on his shoulder, and nodded. "You tried a lot of times, Matt."

"I hate that Mom gets caught up in it - she doesn't deserve all the fighting that goes on between my Dad and I," Matt continued, his gaze drifting to the sidewalk.

Kassie agreed with him there. Growing up, their mothers - Grace and Hannah Rivers - had been there every step of the way for both of them. Grace and Robert Hedge had supported Matt, but the differences between father and son soon became apparent as Matt's interest in theatre grew throughout his years in high school. After Matt had left for college, his father had assumed he would take over the company once he graduated. Matt's impromptu move to the city with Kassie had shattered that image.

Kassie wasn't sure what to say in the silence that followed. She would hold off on giving him her good news, and for the moment, she simply gave her cousin a shoulder squeeze and the most reassuring smile she could muster.

------------------------------

When Sue returned from running errands (many of which included last minute details for the mission next week), she was surprised to see Johnny sitting on the couch, a large bowl of popcorn in front of him on the table as he watched a NASCAR race on the television screen.

"You're home, Johnny?" Sue remarked curiously, walking into the living room and collapsing on her blue La-Z-Boy.

Johnny flashed a smile in response then re-glued his eyes to the TV screen. Sue recognized the polite brush off and wondered what was keeping her brother in on a Saturday night. Johnny had always liked to go out and have a good time, no matter the day or the hour.

"Did something happen with Allison?" Sue asked. She had learned the girl's name over the brief times she had encountered the girl during the past week.

Johnny put his hands on his knees and stood, rolling his eyes at his sister's question.

"Please, Sue. She left this morning," Johnny shook his head disapprovingly.

Despite Johnny's smooth reply, Sue couldn't help but feel both concerned and curious. It wasn't like Johnny to spend a night in - unless he was either deathly ill or his date had already progressed to introducing her to the apartment, the latter of which had made Sue decide to start apartment hunting for her brother.

"Okay..." Sue sighed at length as she followed her brother into the kitchen.

Johnny pulled out a bag of uncooked bow tie pasta from the pantry and grabbed a pot from the rack hanging above the center island. He had to give Sue's apartment props where they were due - whatever her salary at the Doom Corporation, she could hold a pretty damn nice apartment.

"And you're...cooking," Sue arched an eyebrow as she crossed her arms and watched her brother with an amused expression.

"You gonna crucify a guy if he's hungry?" Johnny defended his actions as he filled the pot up with water from the sink and brought it over to set it on the stove.

"Johnny, the last time you cooked, you used it as a segue way to tell me you'd rear ended someone while driving my car," Sue explained reasonably.

"_One_ time!" Johnny held up his pointer finger for punctuation as he spun around to face Sue, "One time and you said you liked the ravioli I made."

Sue chuckled a little as she watched Johnny resume his cooking ministrations. "You sure you're all right, Johnny?"

"God, Sue, I'm fine, all right?" Johnny insisted as he dumped the pasta into the pot and turned back around to face her, crossing his arms to match his sister's pose.

"All right, I'm done asking questions," Sue relented, holding her hands up in peace and defeat. "Save some bow tie for me," she added as she turned and left the kitchen to put away the bags she'd tugged home from her day of errands.

Once alone, Johnny leaned up against the center island opposite the stove and watched the water boil the tiny bow-shaped pasta pieces, a slightly annoyed look crossing over his youthful features. His conversation with Sue bothered him and he didn't like being unsettled unless it involved a girl and turning on his charm. Johnny came to one conclusion: there was no way he was staying in on a Saturday night again after _that_ interrogation.

That was for damn certain.

------------------------------

_A/N: BIG chapter here! I wanted to get in a few last minute things before the launch, which is next chapter. I've also been trying to flesh out my chapters a little more, how'm I doing?_

_Saw FF2 - one word: amazing! I loved the special effects and the character development they had for the quartet. Also, I'm contemplating whether or not to re-work the plot for Crash/Burn a little and write a sequel which could take place during the second movie. Thoughts? Would you guys be interested in a sequel if I pull a Spiderman 2 at the end of this fic (or something like that...; ) ?_

_A big thank you to everyone who reviewed - thank guys for your encouragement and compliments. Glad Johnny was in-character!_

_A faster update, too, since I'm leaving for a trip to Spain tomorrow for two weeks and will not be able to take my laptop with me. Pardon any grammar errors that might have been made in my haste to get this posted. Regardless, I hope you guys enjoy this chap! It's one of my favorites so far._

_End of note, I promise! Don't forget to review : )_


	7. Don't Take My Sunshine Away

_A/N: 5 month pause? _What _5 month pause?_

_Just...read. And listen, to "Paralyzer" by Finger Eleven while you do so. Notes at the bottom._

------------------------------

"One of the greatest misconceptions about life is that  
there are no misconceptions." -Anonymous

------------------------------

Crash and Burn

Chapter Seven: Don't Take My Sunshine Away

"Murder by boredom strikes again."

Sue glanced up from the files in her hands and spared her intern a rueful smile. "We're not back to that again, are we?"

Though, Sue admitted that she could sympathize with her friend. The mission was scheduled to launch in two days and they had spent the whole day reading up on SOP and further requirements; for example, everything they needed to know should something to wrong up in space. Reed, Ben and Johnny all had formal NASA training, but Sue and Kassie didn't, and they needed to catch up as quickly as was possible without developing insomnia at the same time.

They had both come in to the office at seven that morning armed with Starbucks, and it was getting dangerously close to eleven at night.

"I don't know which is worse," Kassie said, standing up from the conference table, her arms full of briefing files. She walked over to an open file cabinet. "Reducing my body fat from nine percent to practically nothing, or reading briefing reports, the length of which would rival anything Dickens ever wrote."

Sue laughed. "Believe me, Kassie, you'll be grateful to have the knowledge with you once we're up there." Sue grinned, "And Dickens was paid by the word."

"Will the team already at the space station be assisting us?" Kassie asked, tucking a few stray files between her chin and collar bone as she slid several others into their marked folders.

"They'll be present, but the initial testing will be done by you, Reed and I," Sue replied. "The team will fly back with us once the mission is complete."

"And won't they be thrilled to be Earth-bound," Kassie said, smiling. "They've been up there four months now, right?"

Sue nodded appreciatively. "The next rotation is scheduled to launch a week after we return..." Sue trailed off, her eyes narrowing at the file she held in her hands.

Kassie looked up as she shut the file cabinet as she filed the last report. "What's wrong?"

"They need a copy of your immunization records to keep on file here, in addition to what's already on file with Medical," Sue said, looking and handing the page over to Kassie. "It's for insurance purposes. Do you need to pick up a copy from your doctor?"

Kassie shook her head, glancing down at the paper. "I have them at my apartment...I didn't think I needed another copy after I cleared my physical exam."

Sue nodded sympathetically; the rules and regulations of completing paperwork...an endless maze, including double-backs and double-checks.

"Johnny's already on his way over to pick me up," Sue said, checking her watch. "I can have him get the records, if you'd like."

Kassie smiled at Sue's kindness and, pulling out her cell, she hit the '1' on her speed dial, "Matt's at the apartment, he knows where they are."

------------------------------

"Thanks again, Matt."

"Sure thing, Fish," Matt spoke into his cell. He had it on speaker as he shuffled through the stack of papers on his cousin's desk.

"Don't--"

"--Call you Fish. I got it, cuz," Matt chuckled as he slid aside a few more papers, looking for the records Kassie had described to him. A packet of several photocopied pages came into view, "A_ha_! Got 'em. Who's coming over again? And at this ungodly hour?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot you went to bed by nine."

"Very funny," Matt made a face as he picked up the white sheet and walked out of Kassie's room and back into the living room of their apartment. "At least I don't sleep away my mornings."

"Since Sue is giving me odd looks, I'll pretend I didn't hear that. Her brother's the one stopping by; Johnny Storm. I'll be home in an hour, all right?"

"I'll be snoring," Matt chimed into the phone. A satisfying click sounded on the other end of the line, but not before he swore he heard his cousin laugh.

Matt walked out of Kassie's room and into the kitchen, grabbing a Coke out of the fridge. Contrary to what his cousin believed, he actually _wasn't_ going to bed early that night. The art gallery he was working at was hosting a big show in two weeks and he was in charge of organizing the event, which included hiring caterers, contacting the featured artists and sending out guest lists. It wasn't one of their bigger art showings, but he was a new employee and wanted to make a good impression.

There was nothing good on TV, but Matt couldn't work in absolute silence. Even at the quiet gallery, he always had his iPod earphones in, blasting his latest musical favorite. Tonight, though, he raided his cousin's stash of CDs and popped in one of her newer albums, Finger Eleven's _Them Vs. You Vs. Me_. Matt found it amusing that, in the apartment, all the band posters belonged to his cousin and the paintings were from the gallery he worked at. (He had even stolen one of his Kassie's too large concert tees...his laundry had been calling his name since last week.)

The very first track on the album kicked off and so did Matt as he sat, pulled out a bar stool and got to work, spreading his folders out on the small kitchen counter that overlooked the apartment's living room.

------------------------------

Johnny was singing to himself the last few lines of _Livin' On A Prayer_ as he hit the 'Up' button on the elevator pad. It was late, but he was in a surprisingly good mood, thanks to a one Candy James he had run into earlier that night. Candy most likely wasn't her real name, but it was a good thing Johnny didn't deal in real names when it came to having a good time. Bon Jovi had been on the radio on his drive over and though he felt a little like his sister's messenger boy, he figured he owed her after she let him sign up as the head pilot to Ben Grimm's co-pilot on the upcoming mission.

_That_ had been a sweet day when he'd found out Ben was going to be his subordinate.

The green light above the elevator let out a soft _ting!_ and Johnny got into the elevator, pushing the button that led to the eighth floor, just like Sue had told him over the phone. 4th and Chambers, not a bad part of Manhattan. Thankfully - wherever his sister's intern lived - the building didn't have annoying elevator music. (He had suffered enough Celine Dion from his sister during her moody teenage years.)

When the elevator arrived, Johnny stepped out and walked down the hall towards apartment 8C. He knocked a few times, waiting with his hands in his jean pockets, his fingers playing around with the keys inside one pocket. He glanced up and down the hallway a few times and decided that it seemed like a pretty nice apartment building.

Johnny wondered how Sue's intern could afford the rent on her own, but his question was soon answered when the door opened to reveal a guy about the same height as Johnny - maybe an inch or so shorter, but Johnny wouldn't rub that in. He had dark brown hair, spiked in different directions with a black ACDC T-shirt and dark jeans.

_Cool guy_, Johnny concluded.

"You Johnny?" The guy asked him.

Johnny nodded, "Sue said you needed something picked up?"

The guy extended his hand, "Yeah. I'm Matt. Matt Hedge."

"Johnny Storm."

Johnny followed Matt into the apartment, his eyes taking in most of the details as a first time visitor would. Though the walls were a standard white, the living room was decorated with a subtle flare for style; red suede couch with a couple tan armchairs, checkerboard carpet, and stainless steel coffee table.

There were a few art pieces on the wall, but also some concert posters. Johnny looked them over as Matt, who he figured as the girl's boyfriend by the way the music posters were mixed in with the art pieces, walked into the kitchen and reappeared later with a manila folder in hand.

It was then that Johnny heard the music in the background, coming from the stereo that fit snugly into a compartment below the TV on the modest entertainment center the apartment had. There were some picture frames on hanging shelves across the room, but Johnny didn't bother to get a closer look.

"Here're the records," Matt said, handing the folder to Johnny. "Sorry you had to come by so late. Kassie's a real workaholic sometimes."

Johnny shrugged in understanding, "Got a sister like that, too."

Matt nodded. "Well, thanks for coming by - and good luck, with the mission."

"You know about that?" Johnny asked curiously.

"Kassie told me," Matt replied. "It's all she's been talking about the last couple weeks."

_Figures Sue's intern would have a boyfriend_, Johnny thought, but all he said on his way out was, "I'll catch ya later."

------------------------------

The launch facility was located in a remote area somewhere in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, with a surprisingly serene lakefront view. The location was stunning and the technology could even rival NASA, but Kassie couldn't stop wondering whose arm Victor von Doom had to pull to get the funding or the clearance - or lack thereof - to get it built, but she pushed those thoughts from her mind as she mounted the elevator that would take her up to where Sue had told her to meet the night before - sixth floor, where the facility's locker rooms were located.

Kassie passed various workers in matching grey jumpsuits, all rushing to complete one task or another before liftoff. The countdown clock read T - 4 Hours and she understood the rush. She'd be boarding the shuttle within the hour and be taking off as soon as all the final checks were run. The people rushing around her were the ones making sure that nothing went wrong with their flight, and she wished them luck with it. Kassie hadn't been briefed on the entire mission, but she knew enough to understand how groundbreaking this mission was going to mean for both the Doom Corporation and for the United States.

She got off the elevator on the sixth floor and followed the signs to the locker rooms, but heard a voice call her room from a partially open door.

"Sue!" Kassie said as she walked into the makeshift conference room. Sue was standing at the head of the table, straightening up various stacks of papers. "More briefing reports?"

Sue gave an exasperated nod, "The last ones, at least until we land. Victor wants this done by the book." She alligator clipped several stacks before sliding them into different colored folders. Glancing down at her work, she nodded satisfactorily and then turned her attention to Kassie again. "I _have_ to show you the suits we're wearing for the mission."

"All right," Kassie laughed at Sue's enthusiasm as she followed the woman out of the conference and down the hall. They walked into a smaller changing room that branched off from the main lockers; the rooms were separate for men and women.

Sue walked over to a bench and picked up two blue suits that seemed more like silly putty in her hands than actual fabric. She held one up for Kassie to take and as Kassie let it drape down in front of her, she couldn't help but smile a little nervously.

"Did Victor develop this material himself?" Kassie asked, glancing at her friend who had begun to undress and slip into the suit herself.

The blond woman nodded. "He hired Armani on the side, but he was essentially the one in charge."

Sue smiled while Kassie followed suit, pulling off her sweatshirt and slacks, choosing an open locker to put her keys and wallet in along with her street clothes.

"He wanted something that wouldn't irritate any of the crew members," Sue explained, sliding both legs into the blue spacesuit.

"You mean he didn't want his carefully moisturized skin to chafe," Kassie translated as she pulled the suit up to slide her hands into the silk-like arms. The zipper ran up from her ribcage to her neck.

Inside her open locker, her cell phone went off, it's mechanical ring echoing in the small room. Kassie looked at Sue.

"Take it," Sue said, now finished dressing as well. She grabbed several gray suits that were sitting on the bench. "I hear the boys in the other room anyway; I'll leave a flight suit for you here."

Kassie smiled gratefully at Sue as the woman waved her on, walking out of the room. She reached into her locker and pulled out her cell, worry spreading over her as she recognized the caller ID.

"Rose, did something happen?" were the first words out of Kassie's mouth.

"Your mother's fine," Rose assured her upon hearing the girl's worried tone.

Rose Parker had worked for Kassie's family for the past seven years as a personal home care assistant. The technical title was Assisted Living, but Kassie hadn't thought of Rose as anything but a close family friend since she had begun taking care of her mother, Hannah Rivers. When Kassie's dad was at work, Rose would stay with Hannah at home. It had been a part-time job at first, but as Hannah's condition had worsened over the last couple of years, Rose had been brought on board full-time. Kassie wasn't sure what she and her father would have done without the woman.

"She thinks it's your eighteenth birthday, Kassie." Rose's voice came over the phone in that same assuring, calm tone, but her words made Kassie's heart drop into her stomach. "She wants to sing to you. Do you have time? I know the launch is today."

"I've got time," Kassie said without hesitation into the phone, her throat already tightening.

"I'll put her on," Rose said quietly.

Kassie closed her eyes against the tears, pressing the heel of her hand - the one that wasn't holding the phone to ear - to her forehead to try and force her thoughts not to scatter.

"Honey?" Her mom's voice came over the line; it about broke Kassie's heart. "How are you, Kassie baby?"

"Hi, Mom," Kassie said, her voice low. "What're you gonna sing for me?"

"Your favorite..." Her mother said. Her voice went quiet for a moment, before coming over the line in gentle tones:

"_Your face is like the sun sinking into the ocean_..." Kassie smiled a bittersweet smile, remembering how her mother had always sung her Sparklehorse on her birthday; or at least, on the days when she remembered it was her daughter's birthday. "_Your face is like watching flowers growing in fast motion_."

"_The Christmas bulbs that are swallowed  
slept in a tree that's gone hollow  
Never a brittle wintertime, baby you are my sunshine_..."

The tears fell silently down Kassie's cheeks as she sat down on the bench in the empty locker room.

"_Sunshine, my sunshine  
Please don't take my sunshine away_..."

------------------------------

Kassie walked out of the locker room fifteen minutes later. She had spent six of those minutes listening to her mom's voice and the remaining nine in the bathroom cleaning herself up. Sue was the first one to spot her when Kassie walked into the antechamber that led to the shuttle.

"Everything all right?" Sue asked Kassie, almost knowingly. She rested a hand on the girl's shoulder.

Kassie nodded and hoped her smile didn't look as watery as the rest of her felt. She recognized the two other men in the room from her previous meetings and briefings with them, Dr. Richards and Ben Grimm. She forced herself to clear her mind, ready herself for the upcoming mission. She had been training for this for weeks and she would visit her mother first thing when she got back. She would visit her dad, too.

"Dr. Richards," Kassie said, glancing at the various metal briefcases clutched in his hands. "Shouldn't those already be on board?"

The scientist looked worried for a moment, exchanging glances with his right-hand man. "Should they be? I mean, I put them on the manifest but I didn't want the samples damaged in transport--"

"Reed, relax," Ben said with only a slight laugh in his voice. "We'll load 'em up when we get loaded up."

"Okay, yeah," Reed said, calming down a little. "That sounds fine. It'll be fine. I mean, Johnny's a good pilot, right?"

"The best," Sue admonished, and it was hard to miss the subtle note of pride in her tone.

Kassie saw Ben roll his eyes at Sue's comment and tried to stifle her smile. She was about to ask Reed what kind of samples he had elected to bring, along with the ones she and Sue had already ordered, when she was bumped into from behind.

"Sorry there," a familiar voice said, "You must be Sue's in--"

The voice broke off when Kassie turned around to see Taxi Guy in a flight suit identical to hers. Or, should she say, the pilot of the mission she was about to embark on? She was stunned, but that was an understatement.

"_You're_ her?!" Johnny Storm exclaimed, dropping the boxes he was holding.

And Kassie wanted to melt right into the ground.

------------------------------

_A/N: So you see. . .a pretty long and juicy chapter. I apologize for the nearly interminable delay in updates, but I had some things to take care of and I'm gonna leave it at that. I hope this chapter satisfied you guys for now; the big "WTF?" scene between Johnny and Kassie is up next, along with some space shuttle jargon that took me forever to research ; )_

_I got a few reviews (can't for the life of me remember who at the moment) that wanted to know about Kassie's parents. Well...there was a scene, and thank you for reminding me to include them! Cookies go to the person who can guess what disease Kassie's mother has, though it's a little obvious. And I dropped hints about Kassie's future powers in this chap; see if you can spot 'em! Because playing mind games like that are fun for authors._

_The Sparklehorse lyrics are a tribute to when they used to be sung to me. I know it's mushy, but bear with me. I didn't want Kassie turning into a mindless Mary-Sue, hopefully that scene with her mom made her seem a little more human :-)_

_Also, over my mini-sabbatical from fanfic, I've decided to write a sequel that goes along with the second movie, though it'll probably start about halfway through the movie instead of taking a few chapters to get to the movie like this one did. Does that make sense? Also changed my penname. Because I'm a skitzo like that and Holly Black rules my imagination at the moment._

_A super long author's not, but yeah...let me know your thoughts in a review!_


	8. The Trick Is To Keep Breathing

_A/N: Yay for chapter eight. . .and the launch. The space station, too. (We're finally there!)_

------------------------------

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be  
misquoted and used against you." -Anonymous

------------------------------

Crash and Burn

Chapter Eight: The Trick Is To Keep Breathing

_Recap:  
"Sorry there," a familiar voice said, "You must be Sue's in--"_

_The voice broke off when Kassie turned around to see Taxi Guy in a matching flight suit. Or, should she say, the pilot of the mission she was about to embark on? She was stunned, but that was an understatement._

_"You're her?!" Johnny Storm exclaimed, dropping the boxes he was holding._

_And Kassie wanted to melt right into the ground._

------------------------------

"What's going on?" Ben's voice broke through _both_ Johnny and Kassie's stupor.

"Johnny..." Sue said uncertainly, looking between her brother and her intern.

Though it took a lot to make Kassie Rivers blush, she felt her face burning up right on the spot.

Reed, Sue and Ben were all looking at her with questions ready to be asked and Taxi Guy - _Johnny. Storm._ - was all but gawking at her. Right now, her focus was all on him and getting to the point of how the hell she had run into him so many times without putting together _who_ he was. She searched for something to say that wouldn't sound completely cliché, or completely insane, but nothing came up.

So they just stared at each other, but Johnny was the first to recover, as always.

"You were leaving Sue's apartment that night..." he said slowly, putting the pieces together.

Sue perked up at that, wondering which night he was referring to. Her brother had been back for a month and a half - how had she _not_ managed to introduce her Genetics assistant and her pilot in that time? The simple and pathetic answer was that she had been busy.

"And you were heading to work for Doom," Kassie said in return. She didn't say, _When you asked for my name_...because that would just sound even more lame in their current situation.

She didn't mention the bar either, but then again, what more needed to be say? They both knew who the other was now and both felt thoroughly gut punched by the whole encounter thus far.

"You two been doin' this dance long?" came Ben's deep voice and the two in question both turned to him. Johnny swore it was the smuggest smirk he'd ever seen Ben pull; he'd have to get him back for that.

Taxi Guy was Johnny storm. Sue's brother. The pilot for the mission.

Hell _yes_ they'd been doing this dance for long, because she still thought of him as Taxi Guy, even as he stood before her in a flight suit with the Von Doom emblem on his chest. The look almost didn't fit him, it seemed too...official.

"What dance?" Reed spoke up, genuinely confused. "Johnny doesn't dance."

And like that, the tension dissolved in the antechamber. Sue and Ben both exchanged amused glances while Kassie laughed nervously, Johnny ran a hand through his buzzed hair, shaking his head ruefully. Count on Reed Richards to diffuse all dangerous situations, that was for sure.

"The Waltz, Reed," Ben said, clapping long-time friend on the shoulder. "Mr. Blond Ambition took a few classes while I wasn't looking."

"That's _great._" Johnny sighed, smiling despite the situation. He looked at Kassie and couldn't help but shrug and extend his hand. "Johnny Storm, ma'am. I'll be your pilot for the duration of this flight."

Kassie did her best not to be affected by that familiar cocky attitude, and missed the worried expression on Sue's face from where she stood behind the younger woman. Kassie took Johnny's hand, gave it a firm squeeze.

"Kassie Rivers. I'll be hoping you can live up to that reputation."

"Never had a problem before," Johnny assured her with a wide smile.

Kassie furrowed her brow, going along with the act. "You mean, other than getting kicked out of NASA?" She didn't wait for another snappy reply, but instead turned to Ben, "Is it time for Comm Checks yet?"

Ben just shook his head, stifling his deep laughter. "Just about. Reed, let's get these cases loaded before Johnny shoots us to Jupiter."

Johnny made a face at Ben behind Kassie's back, his smile effectively diffused by her comment in regards to NASA. Kassie followed Reed and Ben into the shuttle, metal briefcases in hand. Sue stared at her brother for a moment, arms crossed about her chest. Johnny sensed his sister staring and gave her a look.

"_What?_" He said. "You gonna give me flack, too?"

Sue shook her head, a slight smile at the corner of her mouth. "But the same rules apply, Johnny...more so than before."

"What rules?" Johnny asked, miffed. What's he a little old to be taking orders from his sister?

"Don't put her on my couch," Sue said in a level but firm tone, "_Especially_ her." She looked at Johnny for a moment more and then stepped through the airlock that led from the antechamber into the shuttle.

Johnny opened his mouth to cock a response, but a smug voice (more smug than Ben's smirk) from behind made his shoulders tense.

"Girl trouble?" Victor said as he walked up to stand beside Johnny.

Victor had always irked Johnny, even if the flashy pilot in him would never admit it.

"Nothing you're familiar with, Vic, I'm sure," Johnny returned in a strained tone.

"Careful there, Johnny," Victor warned him, turn his cold, calculating gaze to the younger man. "Don't forget where your bread and butter comes from. "He smiled. "At the end of the day, I sign the checks."

After Victor had gone into the shuttle, Johnny sighed. "Freak."

------------------------------

"Roger, Infinity, auto-ground launch sequencer commencing."

"Roger, Mission Control," Johnny responded to the voice communications.

His team was strapped in, the countdown was at less than three minutes. Ben was at his right, the co-pilot (that part of the mission was sweet). Sue and Kassie were behind them, Reed and Victor strapped in the third row. The moment the last prep crew had closed the airlock, he'd gone into pilot mode. No fooling around, no fuck ups. He had six lives in his hands, including his own and though he'd done this several times before with Ben at NASA, his sister was on board. It changed everything, whether he liked it or not. His team was suited up, helmets secure, they were ready to go.

Kassie was strapped in behind Ben, her eyes on Johnny, though a chin strap forced her head to look straight ahead. The change had been subtle, his voice firmer, movements more precise, calculated. He was a pilot and it amazed her that both space shuttle pilot and flamboyant Casanova could be the same person. Even Victor seemed oddly quiet without a double-edged remark to throw up into the air.

"Shuttle Infinity, you are cleared for lift off."

Their seats were oriented in a strange position - they were looking up, instead of horizontal. From where she sat strapped to her seat, Kassie could see the clear blue sky through the five-inch thick, UV-coated windows of the shuttle. It all became real for her in that moment, that she was going into _space_ and she forced herself to remember her training. Steady breathing, steady heartbeat. If she had a panic attack now, it wouldn't be good for her body when they left the atmosphere and zero gravity kicked in. She had to remain calm; Taxi Guy was flying a space shuttle with her on it...forcing herself to relax seemed just as implausible.

"We have S.M.E.," Johnny reported, reaching to flick off or no several switches Kassie couldn't identify if her life depended on it. She had been briefed on lift off procedures, yes, but it seemed like a wall of buttons, levers and switches stared back like an angry mob at Johnny and Ben. She couldn't tell any of them apart.

"Roger, Control," Ben said, adjusting several switches of his own.

"You are a go for ET separation."

"Roger that," Johnny responded, his eyes on the various control in front of him. He took the joystick that controlled the shuttle's flight and trajectory with cool hands.

As soon as the rocket boosters were live, Kassie could feel the shuttle tremble beneath her fingers which were clenched to the arm rest. She looked over at Sue for reassurance, who offered a small smile before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Kassie followed suit.

"Let's fly," Johnny said.

------------------------------

They docked at Doom Space Station a little over two hours later. Kassie was particularly relieved to unbuckle the straps across her suit - they were in full astronaut gear.

"Doom Control, we have successfully docked, secure the airlock," Johnny said, still in pilot mode.

"Roger, Infinity," a voice came over the communications link. "We'll be waiting at the door for you."

"And that's what I like to hear," Johnny said, more to himself than anyone else. He smiled and took a deep breath. They had made it.

Ben looked over and gave the kid a half-smirk while Sue helped Reed out of the buckles he had managed to tangle himself up in; Victor was able to muster the best glare possible, but neither Sue nor Reed took notice. Their movements were hindered by the spacesuits but, luckily, they'd be able to change out of them once they were in the airlock.

"How's my flying?" Johnny asked Kassie, helping her to stand once she got herself unbuckled.

"Fine." Kassie was still trying to take steady breaths. She didn't have a fear of flying, per say, but this was her first time exiting Earth's atmosphere, after all. It wasn't like the technicians could ever explain to her when she had gone through those briefing reports.

After securing the airlock, Victor was the first one to step out into the space station, a combination of pride and greed exuding from his over-confident stance as he strode down the corridor towards the bridge. A team rushed forward to bombard him with updates, but he waved them off and they went back to their work after asking the crew if they required any further supplies before the cosmic storm arrived.

One side of the corridor had an expansive window that gave way to a panoramic view of the Earth and Kassie couldn't help but be mesmerized by it.

"You behave and maybe next time daddy'll let you drive," Johnny said to Ben as the two men carried metal briefcases containing Reed's samples.

"Keep talkin' and there won't be a next time," Ben said tightly.

Kassie just shook her head, and walked after the two, Reed and Sue falling behind them as Reed stopped to gaze out at view of Earth. She glanced back once over her shoulder, a small smile tugging at her lips as she saw Sue lean over and tell Reed something that made him look up, surprised, but then he turned back to the window.

_You just have to get your head out of the textbooks long enough to see it_, Kassie thought sadly. She hoped Victor's personal agenda wouldn't interfere with the two - she hadn't forgotten Sue's initial reaction when Reed had first signed on for the project six weeks ago. The way Kassie saw it, you didn't get that angry about something if you didn't care about them.

She walked on when she saw Sue and Reed turn to go, towards the nerve center of the space station - the command center. The whole experience still seemed so surreal to her, and though the main window over the bridge was closed, she was more interested in the upcoming tests. They were about to make history, thanks to Reed Richards, thanks to Victor's funding.

"We can monitor the cloud's approach and observe the tests from here," Sue said, walking down the steps into the central area of the bridge.

"Is it safe?" Ben asked. He was standing up on the platform that overlooked everything, a wary expression on his face.

"The shields on the station should protect us," Reed said, though without much reassurance in his tone.

"Should?" Ben sounded skeptic.

"What's the matter, Ben? Getting paranoid in your old age?" Victor added in a too smooth tone. It seemed to be an art form of his, cutting down other people while wearing his million dollar smile.

Kassie exchanged glances with Johnny, wondering if the tension between Ben and Victor would come to a head, but Reed stepped in to diffuse the situation (and that was truly an art form for him).

"Let's start loading those samples," Reed said, stepping up to Ben's side. "Kassie? Prep the flora cases, please." Kassie nodded, headed off to the airlock where the space station team had begun to unload their multiple sample cases. "Get your suit ready, Ben."

"So you still do all the heavy lifting, I see. Maybe you should have stayed in the lab..." Kassie heard Victor's voice echo from the bridge as she walked down the corridor. She rolled her eyes, shook it off. Victor was an ass, but he was the ass paying for all the research. Instead, she put herself to use and went back to the airlock room to load the plant samples.

It was going to be a long mission; she missed her mom and Matt already.

------------------------------

_A/N: I was kind of let down by the lack of reviews for last chapter, 'specially considering the length, but I know the wait was a killer...and 109 people've got this on their alert, so that's something : ) I'll also just got down with NaNoWriMo, finished up with 50,955 words. Translation: I'm gonna have some more time to write, especially with Winter Break coming up._

_Anyway, this was a shorter chapter than the previous one, but the storm and the team waking up back on Earth is all coming up, so sit tight. I tried to incorporate more of the movie lines in this chap, too. Anyone want to guess Kassie's powers? Don't forget to review and let me know your thoughts!_


	9. Just Watch The Fireworks

_A/N: Part nine. . .some banter, some plants, the storm. Read & review!_

------------------------------

"Flying is simple. You just throw yourself at  
the ground and miss." -Douglas Adams

------------------------------

Crash and Burn

Chapter Nine: Just Watch The Fireworks

Despite its inconvenient location, the antechamber was provided with enough supplies for Kassie to prepare at least forty more samples than the four Reed had given her in the briefcase. The scientists at the space station had certainly down their job in assembling everything she, Reed and Sue would need to perform their tests.

Kassie put the briefcase on the table, flipped the locks off and opened it up to reveal the flora samples. Each was a separate cut of orchid, fern, kelp and redwood. They were common plants, and Kassie had studied the DNA strains extensively before the flight had been given a green light by Doom's launch facility. If they could map the mutations presented in the plant DNA, it was possible they could apply it to the human genome as well, despite the fact that animal cells and plant cells were structured differently. If all went well, and they loaded the rest of the samples they had brought with them - including Petri dishes containing certain animal DNA - it would something like a scientific miracle, if science and the paranormal ever went hand in hand.

And Reed had been right that day in the conference room - it could save lives.

"Having fun?"

Kassie looked up from the samples and saw Johnny walk into the room, closely followed by Ben.

"Yes," she said honestly, the scientist in her still excited. "If this works out..." she indicated the samples, "It'll be the future of human medicine."

Johnny gave her an odd look, but shook it off. Ben walked past him towards where the astronaut suits were stored in a closet near the airlock.

"You'll have to excuse Johnny," Ben said to Kassie. "I think he failed Biology. Twice."

Kassie laughed, shaking her head. She turned to Johnny, "Five percent of the human genome is still unmapped. These experiments could help us change that. Find cures for the diseases that are incurable."

"Beauty and brains," Johnny commented. Kassie just returned to her work, but behind her back, Ben gave Johnny a warning look.

_Gotta be kidding me_, Johnny rolled his eyes. Mentally, of course - otherwise Ben might pound on him.

The three worked in silence for a time, Johnny helping Ben suit up while Kassie placed the last markers on the flora samples before they'd been placed outside the station - in space. She still couldn't get over how unreal it felt to be up there, thousands of miles above the Earth away from everything she had ever known. It was a juxtaposition that never ceased to amaze her. Contrarily, Johnny wasn't having as much luck distracting himself with Ben's astronaut suit; he was still trying to figure out how he had run in to that red-headed girl so many times without putting it all together. . .

The night he'd come back to New York, she'd been leaving his sister's apartment building, but the building was filled with tenants - they barely had any vacancies. It was logical to assume she was just on her way out for a late night drink (or date). And then he'd run into her at Doom Corp? He should have put it together then, especially after Sue had mentioned the latest graduate she had taken on and how she hoped to get her a job at the conclusion of her internship. Apparently, the intern had only taken a few college classes, but planned to return to school once her temporary position at Doom Corp ended.

How comical it had been realize the intern was the red head, and the red head was Kassie Rivers.

And the bar? He didn't even want to think about Mackie's, because now her rejection made sense after he had gone to her apartment and met the girl's boyfriend.

It didn't sit very well with Johnny, and he wasn't used to that. The only two women that could ever rattle him were his mother and his sister - and his mother was long gone, but she'd taught him as much as she could before she'd died. And Sue...well, Sue had taken on the role as mother after they'd both lost their parents. Now there was Kassie, a girl his sister thought was worth protecting.

And since he couldn't figure out his own predicament, he instead turned to somebody else's, as was the way of Johnny Storm. Before he could speak however, Kassie closed the briefcase and flipped the locks securely back into place.

"These are ready to go when you are, Ben," Kassie said, indicating the briefcase. "I'll get the rest from Reed."

Ben nodded, adjusting the collar of his astronaut suit. "Thanks, Kassie. Make sure the egghead's got us on track."

Kassie laughed and said she would, then left the antechamber to go find Reed. She'd been gone no longer than twenty seconds before Johnny struck up a conversation in order to distract himself.

"So, Ben," Johnny said. He glanced over his shoulder as he grabbed a helmet and walked over towards the Brooklyn man. "How's the single life treating you?"

"I'm engaged, knucklehead," Ben said in a terse tone, glaring at Johnny as he placed the helmet over his head.

"Going on three years now, huh?" Johnny continued, unfazed. "And what about Reed?" He said the last part slowly; widening his eyes a little to convey his skepticism. "_Please _tell me your guy's not trying to rekindle things with my sister."

"'Course not," Ben rebuffed (and maybe a little miffed). "Strictly business."

"Yes. Well," Johnny shook his head as he adjusted several settings on Ben's astronaut suit. "His eyes say differently, don't they?"

"Hey," Ben put a hand on Johnny's, forcing him to look up. "Keep the commentary to a minimum, will ya? Two hearts got busted last time. Maybe she's not over it, either."

You make it too easy, Ben, Johnny thought with an almost pitying smirk.

"Wow, Dr. Phil, that's deep ," Johnny said, turning to grab the briefcase of samples Kassie had prepared and walking over to the airlock. Ben followed him, grudgingly. "Let's compare, shall we? You got Victor, more money than God, stud of the year. And you got Reed, world's dumbest smart guy - no offense - worse less than a postage stamp." Johnny faced Ben, presented him with the briefcase and a too-wide smile. "That's a real toss up," he deadpanned.

"Don't trouble your tiny little mind," Ben lectured him. "You got enough problems of your own."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Johnny crossed his arms.

Ben shrugged. "That maybe you should save some of that hot shot salary for a shrink."

"Cute, Ben," Johnny shook his head, then he stood a little straighter, putting on his best Mom Voice he'd learned from Sue. "Don't wander off now, boy."

Ben didn't bother to roll his eyes. He stepped into the airlock as Johnny stepped back, securing the door behind him. With one deep breath, Ben stepped out into space.

------------------------------

Kassie found Reed hard at work near the space station's laboratories. He was sitting at a computer station with multiple screens and Kassie's eyes immediately went to the one that displayed the countdown of the cosmic cloud's arrival. Eight hours, eleven minutes, thirty-three, thirty two, thirty-one seconds...they had plenty of time to prep the rest of the samples, not to mention get safely encased in the station's protective shields.

"Reed?" Kassie said, walking up to stand next to where the scientist sat perched in front of the computer screens.

Reed jumped, but once he saw who it was, he relaxed. "Hi Kassie."

"You all right?" Kassie asked, giving Reed a sideways glance. Maybe he wasn't taking space as well as she thought he had when they first arrived?

"Yeah," Reed said, running a hand over his face. He glanced down again at some papers in his hand, glanced up at a computer screen. It was a constant game of ping-pong between the two. "I just...want to get this right. We're not going to have another chance. I'm not going to have another chance."

"This is your life's work, Reed. Don't spread yourself too thin," Kassie said gently. She nodded towards a particular computer that displayed Reed's data compiled on the human genome. A color-coded double helix accompanied the data, work any scientist would be proud of. "You're not going to..."

There was something wrong. Kassie's voice trailed off, and Reed glanced up at her to see why she paused mid-sentence. He followed her gaze to the computer screen with the cosmic storm countdown--

It was wrong, it was _hours_ off.

"T minus 4 hours," a mechanically female voice announced with indifference.

Kassie's eyes widened, her heart sinking into her stomach.

"_What?_" She breathed.

Reed shook his head, checking the times again. "That's impossible...it's--"

"--Too damn fast," Kassie finished for him. She leaned in closer to the screen, hoping her eyes were disbelieving. "Oh, God."

But the countdown's numbers continued to drop. "T minus 1 hour, 30 minutes..."

"Reed, what happened?" Kassie asked, turning to Reed. "What's happening?"

"I - I - don't know," Reed sputtered. "It should be seven hours!"

"T minus 10 minutes," the female voice said again. The countdown was slowing to a normal rate now, but they had lost precious hours and what was worse, they didn't know why.

"We have to warn Victor," Reed said, eyes glued to the screen. "I - I gotta - gotta warn Sue."

Without another word, Reed shot up out of the chair and began running down the corridor towards the bridge, where Sue and Victor were. Kassie watched him for a second before turning on her heel back to the airlock where she knew Johnny and Ben were. A horrifying thought struck her - _if Ben's already outside the station_...she had to get the both of them back to the bridge before the storm hit.

Acting on pure adrenalin, Kassie ran towards the airlock, hoping she'd make it in time. She rushed down the corridors, ignoring the personnel who were running in the opposite direction, towards the bridge, where the protective shields were located. All Kassie could see was the warm look on Sue's face when she spoke of Ben, and when she spoke of her brother. It reminded Kassie all too much of how much she loved Matt and her mother - and so she'd warn them herself, if only for Sue, if only for family.

Alarms sounded overhead, red flashing lights accompanied by the same mechanical female voice alerting Kassie to the fact that she had eight minutes to reach Ben and Johnny. When she got to the antechamber, Johnny's back was turned away from the airlock, his attention focused on a computer embedded into the wall that kept track of Ben's vitals. He glanced up, a surprised expression on his face when he saw Kassie run in, nearly breathless. Something was wrong; he could read it her eyes.

"What's with the alarms?" He asked.

"Get Ben inside," Kassie ordered, not having to gasp for breath (at least some of the training came in handy). "Now. The storm is _minutes away_."

"Jesus..." Johnny muttered, turning to look out the airlock. It was all the confirmation he needed. He jogged to the control panel and hit the communication button, Kassie right behind him. "Ben! _Ben_, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, hot shot," Ben's gravelly voice came over the line.

They could see Ben across the gap that separated the observation module and the airlock, bright white astronaut suit against the rapidly approaching orange cosmic storm. Ben's back was turned to the storm. Kassie's heart thundered inside her chest; she leaned in front of Johnny and spoke into the speaker phone.

"You need to get back inside, now," she said urgently.

"But I ain't done arranging your flowers yet, Kassie," Ben said, and Kassie hated that she could hear the laugh in his voice.

"Ben! Turn around," Kassie tried again, panic making her heart pound faster in her chest. She exchanged glances with Johnny as the combination of fear and adrenaline knotted her insides.

Ben's voice plummeted. "Oh God...guys, I'm not gonna make it."

_Not giving up yet, big boy_, Johnny thought as he hit the communications button. "You gotta jump, Ben. It's your only chance, come on! You can make it."

Kassie's eyes were glued to the approaching storm and watched as Ben leaped across the space between the observation area and the airlock, a lone white jumper against the brilliantly colored storm. She put her hand up to the glass, willing Ben to go faster, to beat out the storm.

"Get ready to close the airlock," Kassie said to Johnny, her eyes on Ben.

"Come on, Ben, you got this, you got this!" Johnny said under his breath, his hand hovering over the button to close the airlock.

Ben was getting closer, his speed of his jump hindered slightly by the absence of gravity outside the station, but he was coming. Time slowed and Kassie could feel every beat of her heart reverberate in her ears. She pressed her hand to the glass harder, grinding her teeth together. _Come on, Ben, come on_... The storm snaked out and slammed into Ben and Kassie cried out involuntarily when she saw Ben smash into the glass door that separated the airlock and the antechamber. Johnny hit the button to close the airlock, but the storm had already arrived. Kassie's eyes filled with the brilliant colors - orange, white, red, yellow, all of it composed of a light so intense it burned her eyes just to look at it...and then it slammed into her.

It would be impossible to describe it as anything else but an electric burn that she felt down to her bones. She felt the nerves in her fingers and toes flare, a thousand needles spiking into her skin. It knocked her off her feet and she could have sworn she felt her stomach do one hundred thousand somersaults as she fought to maintain consciousness. Her thoughts scattered, shattering into a million shards. It was a burning, such a fierce burn that was contained just beneath her skin, traveling from her core into her four limbs, building up inside her head. She felt as if she would burst from the pressure, but she didn't. She heard her spine disjoint, her shoulders roll out of their sockets - but her skin never broke.

It was the most painful, electrifying, horrifying, disjointed feeling she had ever had course through her body.

Her mother's face, Matt's singing, her father's angry voice all flashed across her vision.

And then all she saw was black.

------------------------------

_A/N: And there is the storm! I tried to drop more hints about Kassie's powers, but you'll find out in the next chapter (hopefully) or the one after that. Thank you so much to all the reviewers, I really appreciate your guys' comments. They definitely keep me going when writer's block gets me down._

_With winter break coming up, I'll have some more time to write (and to decompress). Let me know your thoughts about this chapter - likes, dislikes, things you might want to see when Kassie wakes up back on Earth._

_Ciao for now & don't forget to review!_


	10. How A Resurrection Really Feels

_A/N: A grateful, giant-sized apology goes out to everyone who helped Crash/Burn reach the 200 mark and had to wait so long for an update!! I honestly don't know what to say, other than life (and SATs, dance, college apps) getting in the way. Lucky news, F4 was on FX the other night and it re-inspired me :)_

_I think this is my favorite chapter to date - a little bit more from the guys' perspective and their reactions to Sue's and Kassie's comatose conditions following the return to Earth. Enjoy & don't forget to review!_

------------------------------

"If people were meant to pop out of bed,  
we'd all sleep in toasters." -Jim Davis

------------------------------

Crash and Burn

Chapter Ten: How A Resurrection Really Feels

_Recap:  
It would be impossible to describe it as anything else but an electric burn that she felt down to her bones. She felt the nerves in her fingers and toes flare, a thousand needles spiking into her skin. It knocked her off her feet and she could have sworn she felt her stomach do one hundred thousand somersaults as she fought to maintain consciousness. Her thoughts scattered, shattering into a million shards. It was a burning, such a fierce burn that was contained just beneath her skin, traveling from her core into her four limbs, building up inside her head. She felt as if she would burst from the pressure, but she didn't. She heard her spine disjoint, her shoulders roll out of their sockets - but her skin never broke._

_It was the most painful, electrifying, horrifying, disjointed feeling she had ever had course through her body._

_And then all she saw was black._

------------------------------

The first thing he felt was pain.

In his head. Up his back. Threaded through his arms - it was everywhere, and it made him feel like he'd been hit by a big rig. A big rig that was on fire and covered in spikes.

In short, he felt like shit.

"Johnny?"

It was a familiar voice, barely uttered. He knew the person it belonged to, had heard it a zillion times before, but he just - couldn't - _place_ it...

"Johnny."

He opened his eyes, and this time, he knew where he had heard that voice before. It had scolded him for breaking curfew, praised him for graduating high school in one piece, ordered him to clean the stupid dishes and load them into the dishwasher. It was his sister's voice. Thank God she was alive.

"Sue," Johnny got out, his throat extremely dry and crackly. "Sue, what--"

His brain was having trouble forming thoughts, but one thing he knew was that something had gone wrong, so horribly _wrong_ and now he felt like he had just survived the apocalypse.

He was on the ground, that much he was sure of. On the ground, and there was a sharp pain in his shoulder. He was lying on his arm, and at the current angle, his elbow was bent inward, cutting off circulation to his forearm, hand and fingertips. Slowly, because that was the speed at which his brain was choosing to function, he stretched out his arm, lifted his other to his face, gently massaging the side of his head in lopsided circles.

He had a _splitting_ headache.

"Johnny, can you get up?"

That wasn't his sister's voice, but he recognized it, too. That voice had told him a dozen oddball facts and given him countless clueless requests. Reed's voice.

Johnny nodded, because it hurt too much to use his throat at the moment, he discovered. He felt like his vocal chords had been rubbed raw with sandpaper. He rolled onto his stomach - slowly again - otherwise his head threatened to explode. He pulled himself back on his haunches, his hands stabilizing himself as his legs tucked underneath him until he was in a sitting position.

_That was fun_, he thought dryly. Humor always made a bleak situation look pathetically laughable. And now he probably had a concussion.

Johnny looked around. His sister was lying on the floor near the doorway, eyes closed. Her chest steadily rose and fell with shallow breaths. His first thought was to help her, but when he tried to stand he just fell over onto the ground again as his balance loped from side to side, equilibrium completely thrown off.

"The storm," Reed said. Johnny turned his eyes to look at Reed. "We need...assistance."

_That we do_, Johnny thought. He rolled onto his back again, wincing when the pain in his shoulder spiked momentarily. He looked around from his position on the ground. There was Ben, slumped up against the glass in his astronaut suit. Johnny wanted to rush to him, take his vitals, but he just couldn't move. It hurt too much. He was assured a little when he saw the bulky suit move slightly, up and down. Ben was breathing, even though his eyes were closed. He didn't see any blood, but that didn't mean Ben wasn't wounded internally. They needed help, Johnny knew, fighting through the fog in his brain as he continued to assess the situation.

He turned his head, looking for Kassie and Reed. He saw the former, struggling to stand.

_Not gonna work, buddy_, Johnny thought, still slightly groggy. He craned his neck more to the side, and saw Kassie's red hair first, splayed against the grey floor. His eyes glanced over her body next, several feet away from the airlock door. One leg was tossed across the other to the right, her torso twisted to the left. She looked like a ragdoll, a blue ragdoll in the Armani space suit Victor had had made especially for this little expedition in space. He almost laughed, until he saw something else that was red that wasn't her hair.

There was broken glass on the floor on either side of her where her arms rested, and a small pool of blood gathered near her thigh. She was slouched up against the wall, and Johnny's eyes traveled to the emergency alarm, it's broken case, in the down position.

_Huh_, Johnny thought.­

It took him a while to realize that she had pulled the alarm...but the blood was what forced him into action.

"_Help!_" He yelled, his voice cracking with urgency. "We need help here!"

------------------------------

The evacuation team was on their way, but Reed had ordered fluids for Sue, Ben and Kassie the moment the space station crew had re-docked. As soon as the alarms had gone off (and the crew had Kassie to thank for that) with the storm's unexpected approach, the twenty-man crew had filed into the twin emergency shuttles and ejected before the storm had hit. No one on the Doom Space Station was paid enough to risk their lives by staying on in an emergency. Reed had found that out the hard way as soon as Johnny had started calling for help.

Victor had been the only one to answer, and he had been the only other one on board when the storm had hit besides them, but he had been protected by the shields.

_Lucky guy_, Reed thought bleakly.

At the moment, Reed was pacing back and forth, waving off a medic as he racked his brain for a logical explanation of what happened. He glanced nervously between his three team members who lay on cots in the sick bay. Ben was breathing, but unconscious. Sue's heartbeat was erratic, her breathing shallow. And Kassie had a laceration that had barely missed a kidney from the accident; she hadn't woken up yet, either. Across the room, Johnny sat on the edge of the counter, arms crossed, his expression uncharacteristically buried in worry.

"She's gonna be OK, right?"

Reed turned at the sound of Johnny's voice. His tone was low, rough. Unsure.

"Her vitals are steady," Reed began, "And the team to fly us back will be here within the--"

"_Don't_." Johnny cut him off, looking up from where his gaze had been glued on Sue's still form. Johnny uncrossed his arms and just shook his head. "Don't talk to me like you're a doctor, Reed. Come on. I need to know if my sister - the unrequited love of _your_ life - is going to be OK."

"I--" Reed paused for a moment, at a loss for what to say. He hadn't seen that coming. He didn't fully understand Johnny's choice of words, but he could see the frustrated, pained look in his eyes. "I don't know," Reed finally said. He didn't like how much the words truly scared him when he looked down at Sue, Ben and Kassie lying in cots on either side of her.

Johnny went back to glaring at the floor, but Reed was saved from the silence when Victor entered the room. It didn't take a rocket scientist to sense the tension in the room.

"Am I interrupting something?" Victor asked, but not in his usual smooth tone. He looked rather frazzled from the storm, though his tone was calm.

"Is the shuttle here?" Johnny asked, ignoring Victor's question. The two emergency shuttles had been booked for a one-way trip, and with the team's back track, fuel was low. As for the shuttle Johnny had piloted. . .he wasn't sure what the storm had done to the systems. He wouldn't risk flying it back.

"On approach," Victor replied, glancing between Johnny and Reed. "We should get these three prepped for transportation. Harry!" Victor called, leaning outside of the door to sick bay, "Get some stretchers."

------------------------------

Johnny was watching Sue, Ben and Kassie get wheeled out of sick bay when he spotted a cluster of the space crew a few meters down the hall towards the shuttle airlock. When they saw him looking at them, all conversation broke off. One of them shook their head, another chuckled and crossed his arms.

Something inside Johnny snapped, the tension had been mounting since he'd had to watch Kassie bleed from her abdomen and his sister and Ben lie unconscious for twenty minutes before the team had re-docked with the station after the storm had passed.

"You have something to say?" Johnny called to the one who'd laughed.

All the smiles were gone from the personnel's faces, except for the one Johnny had called out. Now, he was glaring. And Johnny was glaring back.

"Johnny, this isn't the time--" Reed cut in, but it was useless.

Johnny walked towards the errant crewman, "I said: do you have something to _say_?"

The crewman glared again, but said nothing. The silence almost satisfied Johnny.

"That's what I thought," Johnny said. "Because I know you weren't talking shit about any one of _us_." Johnny indicated himself, Reed, and nodded towards where Ben, Kassie and Sue were being wheeled off towards the shuttle airlock. "Especially not crew mate Rivers, seeing as how if she hadn't pulled the alarm, all your asses would've still been on _board_ when the storm hit."

Johnny didn't wait to see the guilt etch itself on the crewman's face, or the other members of the space team for that matter. He was finished with him. Now all he wanted to do was get home, and forget anyone of this had ever happened.

------------------------------

When Ben opened his eyes, he would have given his pension plan, his apartment _and_ Debbie's engagement ring to not have Johnny's smug face be the first thing he saw when he woke up.

...As it was, he didn't know if the banks were open (or if it was Sunday). His landlord would kill him if he leased the apartment to a hothead like Johnny Storm and Debbie would probably kill him, too, if he ever touched her ring.

And so he was stuck with Johnny. Perpetually smug-faced, _I know something you don't know_ Johnny, though he wasn't looking very smug at the moment.

"Hey big boy," Johnny said in an oddly cautious tone. "How you feelin'?"

"Where am I?" Ben asked, still groggy. First he wanted answers, then he wanted to call Debbie. And then maybe get something to eat...his stomach was _killing_ him! How long had he been out, anyway?

"Back on Earth," Johnny replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Victor's medical facility. We're in quarantine."

Ben had to swallow a few times before speaking again. His throat felt unbelievably dry. "How are the others? Reed, Sue and Kassie, they all right?" ­

"Oh, they're fine." Johnny looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable. "Everyone _else_ is...fine."

Ben was relieved to hear that the team had made it back to Earth in, more or less, the same condition in which they left, but...there was something about the way Johnny spoke that made him think something with him was wrong, and so he asked.

"I swear to you, Ben," Johnny vowed with in an overly concerned tone, "They've done _every_thing humanly possible. The best plastic surgeons in the world - Ben, you had the _best!_"

It was never a good sign when Johnny looked remotely concerned about something.

------------------------------

Johnny Storm just couldn't help but laugh. He promised himself to try and get a laugh out of Ben about the whole plastic surgery gambit later on, when he wasn't so angry and in a mirror-pelting kind of mood. He'd barely made it out of Ben's room without snapping a rib from laughing so hard, let alone escaping with his life. It had been the icing on the cake to run into Reed and his new hairdo on the way out.

_So who's next?_ Johnny thought as he turned another corner which led to another hall, identical to the one before. If it weren't for the conveniently located signs at every turn, he would have lost his way hours ago.

He had been the first one to wake up after the storm had accosted the space station, the first to pass out as soon as he, Sue, Reed, Ben and Kassie had all been rushed into quarantine and finally, the first one to rise after they'd been holed up for a little over a day. That was two days ago, and now, despite the doc's reservations, he felt fit as ever - and ready to tackle the monster slopes just outside of his hospital room. He had to give Victor props where props were due - the man knew how to scout a location.

The facility seemed oddly quiet as Johnny continued down the winding hallways back to his room. Hopefully his grandmother had replied to his voice mail with an appropriately equipped care package by now. She never could resist to spoil her favorite grand kids. Now that he knew his sister's vitals were stable, Reed was up and about, and Ben was in his usual disgruntled mood, he just had one more person to visit before heading out--

The sound of a door clicking shut drew him from his thoughts as he saw the same doctor that had spoken with him earlier walk out into the hall.

"Hey--" Johnny paused as he approached the man, decked out in a white lab coat, "--Dr. Lincott. What's the verdict?" Johnny glanced through glass window of the door, quickly spotting red hair against the pale color scheme of the room.

Dr. Lincott cast Johnny a suspicious look before glancing down at the clipboard in his hands. "Ms. Rivers is stable, for now. Her surgeries the night before repaired most of the damage--"

"Damage?" Johnny interrupted. He didn't like it when people were described having _damage_, especially when it concerned someone so important to his sister.

"Internal bleeding," Dr. Lincott elaborated. "If you'll excuse me, I need to check in with Ms. Storm..."

"'Course," Johnny said, moving aside as the doctor passed him. He stared through the glass for a few minutes before entering; a male nurse was changing the banana bag as he walked into the room. ­

Kassie's hair was cast to one side, a few bangs swept across her forehead, while her head lent to one side. The only sign she'd been in an accident was the cut above her right eyebrow - now held together with three stitches - and the IV needle leading fluids into the crook of her elbow. Her arms were at her side, blanket pulled up to under her arms. The sterile, white colors in the room made her skin look sickly pale in comparison, but now he noticed that she had a few freckles - across her nose and cheeks, and a few fine dustings up and down her arms. Her face looked unnervingly calm...serene, an odd contrast to the sudden panic he felt in his chest.

He had never liked hospitals, not since he'd lost his parents.

Johnny unconsciously walked up to stand next to Kassie's bed, his arms fidgeting at his sides. This was what he'd promised back at the station - ensure that his crew was in the green, and then he could relax. Seeing Sue unconscious had thoroughly freaked him out, and the picture of Kassie before him was having much the same effect on him.

"Your girl's gonna pull through," the nurse said, unhooking the empty banana bag and tossing it in a waste basket near Kassie's bed.

Johnny's head snapped up, utterly confused and caught off guard. "'Scuse me?"

"We wouldn't be switching out pain medication for more antibiotics if she weren't on the mend," the nurse explained. He gave Johnny a brief, understanding smile. "She's soaking up these fluids like a sponge. I'm sure she'll wake up soon."

_That's comforting_, Johnny thought as he watched the nurse leave the room. He turned his attention back to Kassie, cocking his head to one side.

_Your girl..._ Johnny sighed, running a head over his buzzed hair.

Hearing his sister's voice in his head, he just shook his head: _Don't put her on my couch._

"I'll catch ya on the flip side, Kassie," Johnny said quietly, resting his hand on her shoulder for a brief moment, before turning and leaving the girl to her morphine-induced dreaming.

------------------------------

Reed Richards had spent exactly three hours and twenty-four minutes of his time, since waking up in quarantine, going over every possible conversation starter that wouldn't inevitably end in placing the catastrophic storm and resulting blame on his shoulders.

He had spent only three minutes assessing that there was no possible outcome in his favor.

He was currently standing outside of Sue's room - Room 102, two left turns and eight doors down from his own room, shuffling from side to side, trying to work up the nerve to enter the room without immediately turning on his heel and bolting in the opposite direction. He had spent eight minutes attempting to muster up the courage.

_You're being ridiculous_, Reed told himself. _Just go in there, drop off the flowers and leave. She's probably not even awake yet. She never was an early riser on weekends, and it _is _Sunday...but she may not know that--_

Reed's rather jaunty thought process was cut off when he heard the elevator ting! from behind him somewhere down the hall.

_Just get in there, already!_ Reed scolded himself.

After he'd entered the room, though, he wished he hadn't; flowers of every shape, size, color and species were arranged artfully on virtually every flat surface in the room except for the floor. The view was overwhelming, as well as the smell of fresh cut flowers. The TV was on in the background, Victor's face plastered all over some mid-morning talk show.

Reed looked down at the measly sunflower in his hands, and felt himself shrink.

Turning his attention to the doctor standing at Sue's bedside, Reed said, "How's she doing?"

The doctor - Dr. Lincott, from what his ID badge read - spoke, indicating the clipboard in his hands, "Stable. Vitals are strong--"

He stopped when Reed took the clipboard, eyes scanning the test results. "Blood panels show no irradiation, that's good...and you'll step up this protocol every--"

"--Four hours," Dr. Lincott finished for him, giving Reed a slightly annoyed look as he took the clipboard back from him. "We know what we're doing, Dr. Richards."

Reed nodded to himself as the doctor left the room, but without the distraction of studying Sue's current medical condition, his attention returned to the ridiculous display of flora in her room. He couldn't deny that there was a perfectly logical reason as to why Sue's room would be thus decorated. It had been made clear the day Reed had signed the deal with Victor that the two were more than just co-workers, and Reed had left it that. The weeks of preparation before the flight, and actually being up in space with Sue had made him think back to their days together in college, but he wouldn't allow himself to do anything more than think. It wouldn't be right.

Sue was with Victor now. His Sue, blond hair, dark blue eyes, her two matching dimples on either side of her face when she smiled...she was with Victor now. Even if she didn't prefer half of the flowers in the room to the one in his hand.

"Excuse me," came the quiet interruption from behind him. A petite woman pushing a flower cart pulled into the room.

When Reed saw her reaching for an exotic orchid arrangement, he spoke up.

"She's allergic to orchids," Reed explained, gesturing to the flowers. He nodded towards the yellow arrangement next to the purple plants. "Put the sunflowers by her bed. . .they're her favorites."

He cast one glance over his shoulder, smiling at the brief nostalgic moment - _Reed Richards, don't you dare touch those tulips! I'm a sunflower kind of girl_ - before turning and leaving Sue to sleep through the rest of the morning.

------------------------------

"What do you mean, _I can't see her right now?_"

Normally - if you caught him on a good day, and he did have quite a few of those - the only reason Matt Hedge would raise his voice above speaking level would be during a musical audition, his most recent foray into the delightfully twisted world of _Wicked_ included. He wasn't the kind of person to yell and scream and throw a fit to get what he wanted, mainly because it was his odd, boyish charm that won most people over - even the occasional nightclub bouncer.

The receptionist at the Doom Medical Compound, however, seemed to be immune to all forms of communication, including the aforementioned raise of the voice, and sign language. (Matt had taken a few courses over the summer after graduating from NYU.)

"Ms. Rivers, along with the rest of Mr. von Doom's team are currently in quarantine," the receptionist repeated rather tersely. "They are due to be released in twelve hours. Only _then_ may you visit her."

"Look," Matt placed both hands on the receptionist's desk. She crinkled her nose in disgust at the gesture. "I've been here _twice_ already, asking to see my cousin. You guys called me three days ago, saying she was in some sort of freak accident and needed consent for surgery - but oh, no, don't worry, we're taking care of her - and now you won't let me in to see her. I'm freaking _family_, her father's out of town, and as far as I can tell, if she and _the team_ had brought back some sort of alien virus, it would have spread through the whole place by now!"

Matt was breathing rather heavily by the end of his tirade; he nodded his head once, sharply, satisfied that he had gotten his point across. He hadn't gotten this worked up since his audition for _Rent, _trying to convince Mimi that, though he was a struggling, street-performing thespian, he was the better choice over a cold man in a three-piece who would never show her real love. (He didn't get the part.)

"Is that a threat, Mr. Hedge?" The receptionists bristled, her hand going for the telephone in front of her. "Because security is only one phone call away..."

Matt grit his teeth and rolled his eyes. He ran a hand down his face and just sighed. "We're obviously facing a gap in evolution here," he muttered, then said more clearly, "Just let me see Kassie."

"Matt Hedge, right?"

Matt turned at the sound of his name to see a man he vaguely recognized in winter gear with a snowboard tucked under one arm, a helmet in the other. He cocked his head to one side, pointing at the guy as his memory worked to drag up a name from the depths of his sleep-deprived mind.

"You're that guy – Johnny... " Matt began.

"Storm," Johnny finished for him. He looked to be on his way out, but after glancing once at the glass entrance doors, he walked over to stand in front of Matt.

"Right," Matt said. He tossed over his shoulder at the receptionist, "Some quarantine."

"Mr. Storm!" The receptionist stood, waving back hair out of her face. "You shouldn't have been cleared from quarantine yet. The tests--"

"Been dodging 'em since junior high," Johnny grinned. He turned his attention back to Matt, giving him a quick, calculating look. "Are you here to see...?"

"Kassie, yeah," Matt finished for him. "I got a call, but they won't tell me anything. Is everyone all right? The news said--"

"Yeah, we're fine," Johnny replied. He glanced at the receptionist, bit his lip for a second and then began to rummage around in his jacket for something. After a moment, he pulled out what looked like a security pass and held it out for Matt to take.

"Nicked it off one of the nurses." Johnny winked. "It should get you in to see Kassie."­

"Thanks..." Matt said, taking the pass with confused gratitude. He nodded to the snowboard in Johnny's hands. "Everyone else as recovered as you?"

Johnny shrugged. "My sister and your--" He paused, then seemed to correct himself, mid-sentence; Matt wasn't sure why. "Sue and Kassie are still asleep, but you should be able to go see them."

Matt nodded, glancing down at the pass in his hands and then back up at Johnny.

"Well...the door's just through there," Johnny pointed to an offshoot of the main entrance. He added belatedly - almost awkwardly, "Tell Kassie hi from me if she's up." Mock saluting Matt, Johnny turned on his heel and headed out the door without another word.

"OK..." Matt said to himself, staring after Johnny for a few moments before heading towards the door Johnny had indicated.

As Matt entered a sterile-looking hallway, he swore to himself this would be the last time he let his cousin go up into space.

------------------------------

_A/N: All right, so it's a suuuuuper long chapter for you guys. I hope it somewhat forms the apology of me waiting to update in so frickin' long. It is a bit of a slow chapter, but I promise everything picks up starting with the next one - Johnny's snowboard adventure, Kassie discovering one aspect of her new powers and plenty of sibling banter between the Storms._

_Stay tuned, and please tell me how you liked this chapter - if it flowed well, if the characters seemed like themselves, that kind of thing : )_


	11. I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning

_A/N: I am so, so sorry that it's taken me this long to update. The only words I can offer you in explanation: senior year. It's been very hectic for me, my life's been going through some substantial changes, but with the summer coming up, I believe I might actually get to finishing this fic if all goes to plan._

_I'd also like to __**take a vote, if you guys want this plot re-tooled so that I can write a sequel that coincides with Fantastic Four 2**__, including Kassie. That would drastically change the ending of this, so please let me know in your review your feelings on this. I'm not sure right now where I'd like to go and would love to have your input._

_Thank you so much all who have reviewed thus far, you guys are my inspiration that has finally kick started me into this again. Enjoy the extra long chap, and don't forget to review!_

------------------------------

"A friend of mine once sent me a post card with a picture of  
the entire planet Earth taken from space. On the back  
it said, _Wish you were here_." -Steven Wright

------------------------------

Crash and Burn

Chapter Eleven: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

Waking up was never something Kassie Rivers had been particularly good at. Those who knew her well were very well acquainted with her less-than-perky attitude in the early morning - before she'd had her coffee but after her alarm clock had ripped her from a dreamy sleep. Though she prided herself on being extremely punctual during the work week, that Protestant-like work ethic went out the window as soon as the weekend arrived. However, after sleeping for three straight days (forty-eight hours after she had undergone major surgery), she was ready to wake up and say goodbye to a morphine-induced coma.

When she finally did come to, it took her a few moments to realize her surroundings were foreign, and that the bags under her cousin's eyes indicated he hadn't slept well for a few days. Maybe more than a few.

Kassie opened her mouth to ask him where she was and why her fingertips and toes were tingling, but her voice seemed to have been replaced with that of a toad's. Her throat felt like it had been run through with knives and doused in salt.

"Hold on there, Kass." Matt sprung out of the chair he'd slumped into hours earlier and went for the water pitcher next to her bed. He poured a quick glass and held it up to Kassie's lips.

He was in the middle of filling a fourth cup when Kassie spoke up, "I'm OK, Matt. Where am I?" She ran the arm that wasn't hooked up to the IV over her stomach, and felt the bandages beneath the blanket, but didn't feel her fingertips. (Thanks to pain meds, no doubt.)

"What happened to me?" She asked, her voice shaking slightly.

Matt sat down again, looking more worried and stressed than before. He ran a hand through his hair, which also looked like he hadn't combed it in days.

"I'll tell you everything I know, but you can't interrupt, OK?"

Kassie nodded yes, and listened as Matt told her everything the people at the medical center had told him. After the storm, Johnny, Reed and Victor had flown back with her, Sue, Ben and the personnel at the space station. The five who hadn't been offboard - or within the station's shields - had been seen by the best doctors before being shuffled off into quarantine until tests could clear them of any harmful effects caused by the cloud.

One of the nurses at the Doom medical facility had called Matt three days ago, hastily explaining his cousin's injuries (two bruised ribs, internal bleeding and - recently - a ruptured spleen) and requested immediate consent of all necessary surgeries. After getting that call, Matt had been doing everything in his power to reach Kassie's father - who was in Canada on business where, apparently, cell reception was unheard of. He also called Rose, as the only information she had been able to gather was from the 6 o'clock news and had been worried out of her mind about Kassie. The only person in their small family that wasn't aware of Kassie's condition was her mother, but it was probably better that way, at least for now.

This all happened two days ago, and Matt had only now just been able to get in to see his cousin at Victor von Doom's private medical facility. He'd spoken with the oncall doctor (the surgeon who'd operated on her had been called away to Afghanistan on an undisclosed emergency). This doctor, Lincott, had explained Kassie's injuries more fully than the nurse had, and assured Matt that everything had gone well and that his cousin was on the mend; it was only a matter of when she woke up in post-op.

"So...I don't have a spleen anymore?" Kassie asked, her hand going to the bandages around her stomach again.

She looked around the room for a moment, her eyes going over the table in the far corner, the TV secured to the wall across from her bed, the TV hook and stand on the other side of her bed from where Matt sat. Late afternoon sunlight fell in thick bars through the three connected windows on the left side of the room, looking out into the Appalachian wilderness. The sunlight almost touched her bed, and she felt herself drawn up towards it.

"A splenectomy was what the doctor called it. They were able to perform it laparoscopically, but you'll want the pain meds," Matt elaborated, drawing Kassie's attention away from the sunlight and spectacular view. "You can live without your spleen, you know."

Kassie gave him a look. "Obviously."

"Sorry," Matt said sheepishly. He nodded towards the table next to Kassie's bed, where three transparant orange pill bottles sat, all with her name on it. "You've been out for three days, but you and everyone else were cleared from quarantine about a half hour ago. These are for when we get home."

"Vicodin?" Kassie asked aloud. She'd messed up her knee once before, in junior high, and had to have pins placed in them - she remembered with perfect clarity how painful that had been.

"One of them is," Matt nodded. "Kass, there's one bottle not there that should be, but because you're healing so fast, the doc said you wouldn't need it."

"Is there something wrong with my immune system?" Kassie asked. She didn't like how hesitant Matt sounded. "Because I know having your spleen removed can..."

"No, no, that's just it. Your white cell count is up - at least, as of three hours ago it was," Matt said, partially assuaging his cousin's fears for the moment. "But, there's this, too--" He sat forward in the chair and poked Kassie in the side, in between a few ribs.

"Hey!" Kassie cringed, waited for the pain to come. When it didn't, she cast a look in Matt's direction.

"You bruised a rib on your left side, and your spleen was punctured during the flight back to the Earth," Matt said, reciting what Dr. Lincott had told him earlier that day. "Which led to internal bleeding. They removed your spleen and that stopped most of the bleeding; wrapped you up after to keep your rib in place until it heals."

"I think you missed your calling in medicine," Kassie commented, impressed with Matt's medical explanations.

Matt smiled briefly, but continued on. "A bruised rib takes a month to heal, and it can be sore for awhile after that, too."

Kassie paused, then made a quiet 'Oh' sound, realizing the _lack_ of pain and soreness she'd felt when Matt had poked just a few seconds ago. It hadn't hurt any more than a normal poke would, and they'd gotten into some serious poking matches when they were kids.

"That's right," Matt said, watching the realization dawn on his cousin's face. "The surgeons here are good, but not that good. Another thing during your surgery - with all the bleeding, you were apparently really...bloated, too."

"Bloated?" Now Kassie was back to giving Matt a doubtful look again. "This may be TMI, but it's not my time of the month."

Matt made a face. "Gross, Kass. That's not what I meant." Kassie chuckled a little, but listened as Matt said, "In addition to draining a few pints of blood out of you, the doc said there was nearly just as much water stored up near your liver and spleen. None in your lungs, though."

"I'm guessing that's the simplified version of events," Kassie said.

Matt nodded. "Yeah, it is, but you have to admit, it's still weird." He bit his lip, debating for a moment.

After knowing her cousin for nearly all twenty years of her life, Kassie was an expert at reading him. "What is it, Matt?" She asked slowly, seriously.

"The doctor - Lincott - said he wanted you for...tests. For more than just clearing you from quarantine." Matt was looking at Kassie carefully to guage her reaction. His own initial reaction to Dr. Lincott's request had been to be repulsed - his cousin wasn't some science experiment and he wasn't done praying to and thanking his lucky stars that she was all right after the accident up at the space station.

"Just call me Freak of the Week," Kassie muttered after a moment. "That's probably why it doesn't hurt. I mean, if I'm still chocked full of water like the doctors said. A water cushion."

It made Matt cringe, seeing how confused and saddened his cousin looked now. He felt the urge to cheer her up with something - anything - but nothing came to mind in that moment, except--

"Johnny Storm says to say hi," he said suddenly.

Kassie's expression went from dejected to surprised to embarrassed in the span of ten seconds, and it made Matt smile.

"And...I think he thinks that we're a couple!" Matt added in a gleeful tone.

"What?" Kassie squeaked, just before she burst out laughing. She wasn't sure how Johnny Storm could come to that conclusion, but the comment had definitely made her momentarily forget that Victor's doctors wanted her for additional testing.

"What makes you think that, Mattie?" She asked, after regaining control of her laughter.

"A male's intuition. Have fun with it," Matt said with a smile, and winked. "Hey, let's grab dinner. I'm _starving_!"

Kassie glanced meaningfully at her bandaged stomach and the IV stand next to her bed. "You really think that's a good idea?"

"Lincott said you only needed the fluids to keep you hydrated," Matt explained, standing to his feet. He walked over to a closet by the table in the corner of the room. "And while you have a great view," he nodded towards the room's three windows, sunlight spilling in, "You don't need the IV anymore..."

Kassie watched as he opened the closet and stood back to reveal a fold-up wheelchair.

"Your chariot awaits," Matt said with a flourish of his hand.

------------------------------

"You should have this Richards guy miscalculate space storms more often," Matt said between mouthfuls of lobster bisque. "Because the food here is _incredible_."

Kassie arched an eyebrow at Matt in response, shaking her head. After being wheeled from her room to the cafeteria in her 'chariot', she and Matt had found a couple spare chairs in an enclosed courtyard and settled down for an early dinner. She had spotted Reed and Sue at a table together earlier, and had mentally crossed her fingers for the two.

Though she knew Matt's words were meant as a joke, she couldn't help but feel the chill travel down her spine at the realization what had happened over the last couple days, many of which she spent unconscious in surgery and then recovery. It was a miracle they were all still alive. How had they come away unscathed?

Kassie glanced down at her bandaged torso, and cringed. She was now a half pound lighter thanks to the absence of her spleen.

_Relatively unscathed_, she amended her earlier thought.

"What's on your mind, Kass?" Matt asked her, drawing his cousin abruptly from her thoughts.

She put her tray of half-eaten food on to the table and leaned back in the wheelchair, soaking in the last of the sun as it moved to set behind the horizon of snow-covered mountains.

"I want to know what really happened to us up there," Kassie said truthfully, after a moment. Matt's brow furrowed, remaining silent as she continued. "We were essentially exposed to radiation. And not just the run of the mill kind you pick up from power lines or X-rays. This was cosmic radiation, something we've never been able to study before."

"But this Richards guy. You trust him to know what he's doing, right?" Matt asked in a worried tone.

"He's brilliant, there's no doubt," Kassie replied, then hesitated. "But not even he knows everything. No one can, nobody's that perfect, you know?"

Matt nodded, taking a deep sigh and running a hand through his dark hair. "I don't know what to tell you, Kassie. I'm just glad you're still alive, medical anomaly or not."

"Yeah..." Kassie said quietly, her gaze drifting pass Matt to the slowly darkening horizon. "Were you able to get a hold of my dad?" She asked after a moment.

Matt shook his head. "His secretary said he'd be back in two weeks. Apparently cell reception is unheard of in Canada. You didn't tell him about getting a spot on the mission, did you?"

"I didn't want to worry him," Kassie admitted, shrugging. "You know how he can be. I'll visit him for a weekend once he gets back."

"I might just join you. He's just about the only one that appreciates my musical talents!" Matt said, jabbing Kassie lightly in the knee with his foot.

"Very funny, Mattie," Kassie said, laughing a little. It still puzzled her how laughing didn't cause her to rip any of her sutures in her torso.

"Come on, Fish, I'll wheel you back to your room," Matt said, standing and placing his dinner tray on the table next to Kassie's.

Even though the sun had set now and the day was quickly losing light, Kassie could still see the clear bags under her cousin's eyes, and immediately felt a stab of guilt in her stomach for causing him so much worry.

"You head out, the parking lot's just across the courtyard," Kassie said, nodding to where she could see gates that led to the lot. "I'll make it back to my rooms all right."

Matt hesitated, unsure. At this, Kassie put both her feet on the ground and pushed herself up out of the wheelchair, standing on her own two feet. She fought a quick bout of vertigo, but quickly regained her senses. She'd be able to collapse into sleep once she got to her room.

"See? No assistance required," Kassie said, offering Matt a smile.

"If you're sure..." Matt said.

"I am," Kassie re-affirmed, pulling Matt into a brief but tight hug. Giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, she said, "Get some sleep, cuz. I'll see you tomorrow."

------------------------------

Johnny Storm couldn't stay in one place long enough to make sense of what had just happened. It was adrenaline-pumping, mind-blowing, earth-shattering.

And he wasn't talking about the sex with Nurse Whatsername.

Well, that was pretty amazing, too, but besides the point:

He had been _on fire._

On. Fire.

En fuego, lit up like a matchstick. And yet the fire hadn't burned him, it had come from _within him_. It had been the most amazing feeling in the world. It was as if someone had taken all of the good times he'd ever had - and the surging emotions that went along with them - and ignited them into actual fire that had engulfed every inch of his being. His clothes had been incinerated, sure, and he wasn't exactly certain on how he'd survived snowboarding off of the cliff's edge - but those were all questions he could ask later. More specifically, Reed - he'd be able to answer his questions.

And right now, Johnny had to find him, and his sister, to let them know what had happened. It was the storm, it had to be. It had somehow changed him and it made him wonder if the rest of the crew had been affected in a similar way as well.

He was walking as quickly as he could - or, more like waddling - with the nurse's pink ski jacket wrapped around his waist. He garnered quite a few glances from the compound's employees as he passed them in the halls, but he paid no attention to it. He was on a mission to find the rest of the gang and tell them what happened.

Johnny was passing through a hall that looked out onto the courtyard. He was just about to turn a corner when something caught his eye - familiar red hair in the dying light of the sun. Kassie was in the courtyard, rising to her feet slowly out of what looked like a wheelchair. Matt was with her.

He watched them embrace, Kassie giving him a kiss on the cheek before he left, battling down an unsettling feeling in his stomach. After watching Matt leave through the front entrance gate, Kassie walked slowly across the courtyard, her gaze on the ground, still unaware of Johnny's presence.

Johnny noticed that she held an arm close to her stomach, where he knew the bandages he had seen earlier were hidden underneath the blue hospital robe she was wearing. He simply stood there, pink jacket and all, watching her walk closer and closer towards him.

It really was a shame, that they hadn't met under different circumstances. He knew she was 100% off limits, Sue had told him so. Reed would probably say the same thing, if he could get his head out of the books long enough to realize that Sue's intern was one good-looking girl. Ben...well, Ben would probably give him The Look, accompanied with either a long-winded lecture about treating a woman right. That, or he'd slap Johnny upside the head in an attempt to knock some sense into the boy.

But that wasn't going to happen, because Johnny wasn't going to pursue Kassie, in any capacity. How could he, when everyone thought it would just end badly anyway?

"Hey."

Johnny snapped up from his thoughts, and saw Kassie entering through the glass and metal doors. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun, face clean of any make-up, the cut on her eyebrow was now barely visible, which he did find odd, but was distracted when he saw her expression falter a little as her gaze drifted down to the jacket wrapped around his waist.

"Come on," Johnny said, reaching for her hand and guiding her firmly but steadily down the glass hall. He'd explain everything as soon as they found Ben, Sue and Reed.

"Does that story explain the wardrobe?" Kassie asked, somewhat breathlessly as she worked to keep up with Johnny's pace down the hall. She just couldn't make sense of the pink jacket.

"Kind of," Johnny allowed, giving her a sideways glance as they turned another corner. "Aha! There they are," he said, almost to himself, letting go of Kassie's hand to open the door to the mess area, letting her go in before him.

"Hey! You guys!" Johnny said, as the two approached Reed and Sue. "You are never gonna believe what just happened to me.

"Kassie, you're up!" Sue exclaimed, sounding somewhat distracted. Kassie offered her a quick smile, but the blond woman's expression quickly shifted to her brother, and the pink jacket, her confusion deepening as she took in the sight.

"Oh," Johnny said, as if he'd almost forgotten what he was wearing, or not wearing. "Well, I can explain this," he assured them.

"Uh huh," Sue said, nodding and placing a hand on her hip.

------------------------------

"Invisible? You turned _invisible_?" Kassie asked, not believing the words that were coming out of any of their mouths at the moment. Johnny had become a literal torch of fire, Sue had turned completely invisible and Reed had stretched to an inhuman length. It couldn't be real.

"It just happened," Sue said, shaking her head in confusion. "I was talking - well, disagreeing - with Reed and then poof, I couldn't see my hands. My watch was floating in mid air."

The four of them were walking down the halls towards Ben's room, Sue and Reed in the lead with Johnny and Kassie right behind them. Sue pushed through double doors, continuing her previous thought.

"It has to be the cloud," she reasoned. "It's fundamentally altered our DNA."

Kassie was inclined to agree with her, though there hadn't been any proof thus far of any changes in either her or Ben. Though, they hadn't seen Ben yet since he'd woken up...

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Reed said, echoing Kassie's thoughts.

But Kassie didn't hear what else he said, because Johnny had drawn her full attention: he was snapping his fingers and, like a light switch, a small flicker of a flame appeared at the tip of his fingers every time he snapped.

"What the..." Kassie said, her eyes widening in fear and fascination.

"Woah, guys," Johnny said, his eyes fixated on the flame at his fingertips. He had stopped walking, but now approached Reed and Sue, snapping his fingers once, twice, thrice.

"Now picture that, but..." Johnny motioned with his hands across his face and his torso. "Everywhere. It was _everywhere_." He paused, "What?" He demanded to know.

"The cloud has fundamentally altered our DNA," Reed conceded after a moment.

"Cool!" Johnny laughed in triumph. "And you know what guys...I think I was _flying_..."

The thought that the space cloud had changed something in them made Kassie feel incredibly uneasy, even though the statement wasn't entirely true. She hadn't exhibited any inhuman side effects as a result of the cloud and, as far as they knew, neither had Ben.

They arrived at Ben's door less than a minute later, Sue and Johnny in the middle of a bicker match - a sight which reminded Kassie all too much of the banter she shared with Matt.

"Hey, Ben, it's Reed. Open up, buddy," Reed said, tapping on the door, but it was locked from the inside. "Sue, do you know the code?" He asked after looking at the keypad by the door.

Sue worked on getting the door open, but Kassie could see from the window in the door that something wasn't right. Where Ben should have been resting peacefully, he instead seemed to be writhing under the covers.

"Any luck?" Kassie asked, coming to stand by Sue as she tried various codes on the keypad.

Sue shook her head, "No, it's not working. I don't understand why..."

"Hey, does someone have the keys to these doors?" Johnny asked, walking back down the hall a ways, in search of a Doom employee. The halls essentially empty, he turned back and said, "Just break the glass. It can't be that thick."

The three of them watched as Reed knelt down and held his hand on the floor right at the entrance of the door. Slowly, it stretched, flattened and extended up the other side of the door, his hand grasping the handle and opening the door from the inside. They watched in stunned silence as his arm shrunk back down, underneath the crack between the door and the floor and then back to its normal shape.

Johnny, of course, was the first to speak.

He gave Reed a look. "That's gross."

Reed's expression conveyed reluctant agreement, but they both dropped the issue for another time as they heard a loud crash from inside Ben's room. Rushing through the door, the four of them stopped in the tracks when they saw the huge, square-shaped hole that had been ripped through the wall.

"Ben?" Reed called, his eyes scanning the bathroom and then the rest of the room.

"Look, look, look..." Johnny said, pointing towards the forest through the gaping hole in the wall.

Kassie spotted something moving that was quickly disappearing into the distance. It had to be Ben, but from that far away, she couldn't be certain.

"What is that?" Johnny asked as they all walked up to the edge of the wall.

"What's going on?" A voice commanded from behind them. Kassie turned to see Victor entering the room.

"What happened here?" He asked. He didn't look good. His normally tanned skin was abnormally pale, a dark jagged scar marred his face near his right eye, held together by a couple staples.

"Victor...are you feeling all right?" Sue asked, taking in Victor's somewhat haggard appearance.

"I'm fine," Victor waved her off. "Just a few scrapes, that's all."

"Ben did this," Reed answered. "He's had some kind of...reaction to exposure from the cloud."

"We all have, um..." Sue struggled to find the right words. "Different symptoms."

_Symptoms_, Kassie thought. That was a word for it.

"Symptoms?" Victor repeated, confused.

"Victor," Sue began, and Kassie could hear - was it regret? guilt? - in her voice. "Um...I should have--"

"Just find him," Victor cut her off, and turned to leave the room.

"Anybody got any ideas about where the big guy's goin'?" Johnny asked in the interim following Victor's exit.

Kassie exchanged a worried glance with Sue as Reed bent down to pic up a photograph off of the ground.

He studied it for a moment, then said, "He's going home."

"We should leave first thing tomorrow morning," Sue suggested, sitting on a bench that was placed at the end of Ben's now crushed bed.

"Right," Reed said. "I think it would be best if we stuck together right now. I need to figure out the extent to which we've all been affected by the cloud."

"Not all of us," Kassie spoke up from where she stood by the edge of where Ben had ripped a hole in the wall.

Reed, Sue and Johnny all looked at her, so she elaborated "I haven't burst into flames, disappeared, stretched or even Hulked up. I wasn't affected."

"Kassie," Sue said, concerned. "We don't know that for sure. Your symptoms might not have presented yet. You weren't protected by the station's shields. I don't think it would be safe..."

"It might take less than a day to run the tests," Reed picked up on Sue's lead.

At the mention of 'tests', Kassie flashed back to earlier that day when Matt had told her about the doctor wanting her for further study, to run extra tests. She didn't want to be a part of either scenario, but she also didn't want to mention how fast she had been healing since her surgery, either. That would only cause them more needless worry. So, she compromised.

"Look," Kassie said, turning to Sue. "I'll call right away if anything happens that's out of the ordinary, all right? I just want to go home and rest for a few days."

She could tell both Sue and Reed were uncomfortable with the idea of letting her out of their sight so soon after the accident, but after the medical compound cleared her from quarantine tomorrow, there wasn't much more they could do. Kassie took their resulting silence as acquiescence and quietly excused herself and headed back to her room for the night, utterly exhausted.

"I don't feel comfortable leaving her on her own," Sue said after Kassie had left.

"We can't force her to come with us," Reed said pragmatically.

Johnny remained uncharacteristically silent, his gaze distant as he stared towards the horizon Ben had disappeared into.

Sue sighed, shaking her head. "Whatever this is, it's going to change everything. Temporary or not."

------------------------------

_A/N: Well there you go! I hope I was able to keep the characters in character and the plot moving along. Any further guesses as to what Kassie's powers are? They're coming up in the next chapter with the famous Brooklyn Bridge scene._

_As for the vote, please let me know if you'd like a sequel or to keep this as a stand alone._

_I hope you all enjoyed the update, don't forget to review!_


End file.
